Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport Taxiway C Rehabilitation

November 13, 2015

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A JRE Crew led by foreman Tom Taylor is working against the clock to rehabilitate Taxiway Charlie at Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, completing the electrical work in time for paving before winter.

At the end of October, JRE started the demolition of existing light fixtures and wiring, installation of all new taxiway edge lights, lighted signs, and all the associated underground infrastructure for the first phase, which makes up a little more than half of the five-phase project. When this phase is complete, Taxiway C will have over 130 new edge lights and more than 25 new signs to guide aircraft as they taxi to and from the runway. The crew will return in the spring to finish out the project, replacing the edge lights and signs on the rest of Taxiway C.

The timeline isn’t the only challenge on this project; the crew is drilling foundation holes that overlap, but don’t line up entirely, with the holes left by demolition. “The auger wants to follow the original hole,” says JRE Project Manager Jeremy Rowley, “The placement was wrong before and we’ve got to correct it and get these foundations perfect.”

Precision is paramount in edge lighting and airport guidance signs because pilots rely on these lights and signs to outline the taxiway and navigate their aircraft at night and in low-visibility conditions.