A $33 million upgrade of the runway lighting is expected to extend the life of the NAS Kingsville airfield 25 years or more.
It’s also involves employing dozens of workers, giving a welcome boost to the Kingsville economy.
The project requires removing the existing runway lighting and support equipment and replacing it with modern, energy efficient LED lighting.
The contractor also is installing two lighting vaults to house the switches that control the lights.
“They’ve been here since March 2019,” said Ken Moses, NASK airfield manager.
“They do one of the four runways at a time, allowing us to continue flying while they work.
“This will eliminate a lot of headaches for us. The old system suffered frequent breakdowns.”
The contract was awarded in November 2018.
Estimated completion of the project is August 2021 after a $2.3 million contract modification for upgraded switch gear and to install generators to keep the system operational during hazardous weather.
Marcos Castaneda, NAS Kingsville’s project manager, said the prime contractor, CRP/Head out of Ohio, is “a quality contractor with a commitment for doing a quality job and working with local subcontractors and vendors.”
“The construction crew ranges from 45 to 56 workers on any given part of the project,” Castaneda said.
“About 70 percent live in Kingsville. And others are staying in local hotels as the project has progressed”
CRP/Head previously did a similar lighting project for NAS Corpus Christi.
“CRP/Head’s extensive experience with the NASCC airfield made then able to bring a ‘lessons learned’ approach to our airfield project in order to mitigate any impact to NASK’s mission,” Castaneda said.
Moses said one of his big concerns was that the project would produce FOD – debris on the airfield that would cause Foreign Object Damage to jets and their engines.
Turns out, he didn’t need to worry.
“They clean up behind themselves constantly, Moses said. “They do a really good job of keeping FOD off the field.
(A version of this story appeared in the Sept. 17, 2020, edition of the Kingsville Record.)
| Date Taken: | 09.17.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.21.2020 17:07 |
| Story ID: | 378311 |
| Location: | KINGSVILLE, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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