Runway Repairs at Grissom

The runway at Grissom ARB, Ind., will temporarily close beginning June 1 so civil engineers can undertake a $3.2 million runway repair project. “The pavement heaves up during the summer time, so we are going to put in expansion joints in the pavement that allow it to move around and prevent an un-level pavement surface,” said 434th Civil Engineer Squadron chief engineer John Robison in a release. “We are doing this to prevent buckling of the runway due to thermal expansion,” he added. The project is slated to take 45 days. Air Force Reserve Command’s 434th Air Refueling Wing will shift its KC-135 operations to an as-yet unannounced base somewhere in the Midwest, according to the release. Grissom’s 12,500-foot runway was last closed for repairs in 2004, according to the base.