Civil engineers aim to repair, upgrade as much as possible this summer

Published June 4, 2015
By Tech. Sgt. Raymond Mills
JBER Public Affairs

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is currently in the process of repairing and upgrading worn and outdated infrastructure.

Due to weather trends in the Anchorage area, major construction is typically done during the short summer months.

This leads to a great deal of pre-planning and coordination to get projects completed swiftly, efficiently, and with as little disturbance to day-to-day missions as possible.

"A lot of our infrastructure is more than 50 years old," said Air Force Capt. Ryan Oot, 773d Civil Engineer Squadron operations flight commander. "Things are going to fail occasionally that need to be repaired."

Active construction includes paving, replacing fire hydrants, fixing drainage issues, and water-line and flightline upgrades.

One particularly noticeable project affecting people is ongoing construction operations near the dorms on Fighter Drive.

"A storm water drain had some issues that created a sinkhole in the street, so we will be replacing a portion of that in-house," Oot said. "The schedule is to be determined."

In addition to addressing drainage issues near the dorms, renovations to taxiway Alpha North are on the list to be accomplished.

Oot said the project consists of removing and replacing deteriorated asphalt and unsuitable soil before installing new storm drainage and lighting systems. He said the $6.924 million project will ensure mission readiness.

Although there is a lot of work happening on the operations side, other aspects of the base infrastructure are also being revamped, like road paving and replacing fire hydrants.

"Funding across the board is slim these days," Oot said. "Our funding for contracted paving projects is primarily focused on the air field. As a result there are some areas around base that we are not able to get to with contracts, so we are shifting our in-house focus to accomplish [those]."

Although the flightline takes priority as a mission-critical asset, engineer teams are also working to ensure road systems are taken care of.
Oot said there will be some minor paving and painting projects that may result in road closures.

"People have seen our guys out in the evening and on the weekends doing hand painting of the arrows and turn lanes," Oot said. "That will continue through the season."

Weather and finances are not the only factors considered when setting up a CE project.

"We try to minimize [inconvenience to base population] as much as possible," Oot said. "We definitely take [delays and detours] into account when planning projects."

CE will always be busy maintaining and keeping up base infrastructure, said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Austin, 773d noncommissioned officer in charge of roads and grounds. "We have a long road ahead, but we love what we do and will remain dedicated to the safety and care of JBER."

Although they work as swiftly and safely as possible, Oot said the task of completing a project at JBER presents unique challenges to their timelines.

"Being in Alaska can sometimes make it 'not so easy' to get materials," Oot said. "Sometimes things have to be shipped from the Lower 48 and that extends the length of the repair. So please bear with us ... we are doing what we can to get things up and running."

JBER personnel are encouraged to be patient and pay special attention to their surroundings when near construction sites, as there may be large moving equipment or open holes.