T-DOT has begun work this week to repair asphalt cracks at the Upper Cumberland Regional Airport.
Airport Director Dean Selby said cracks on the airport’s ramp, taxiways, and runway are being repaired. Selby said repairs were urgent as some cracks are an inch wide and six to eight inches deep.
“You get water through it into the sub base, what ends up happening is it liquifies,” Selby said. “The soil underneath it gets wet, and it allows movement. And obviously, you don’t want movement when you’re having 100, 200, and even in some cases up to 500-600-pound aircraft rolling across it. So it’s a thing that has to be done to prevent that.”
Selby said T-DOT will be using a routing machine to cut out oxidized pavement and then seal the cracks. Selby said he is thankful that T-DOT has stepped in to handle the repairs, as the repairs would have been quite expensive.
“The good thing about this is, it’s state dollars and it’s not local dollars,” Selby said. “The bad thing is it’s still a project that you gotta work with, and they will probably be here for about a week. They are actually out here working on it now, so hopefully we will get that done sooner rather than later.”
T-DOT will seal cracks on the ramp and taxiways first, which do not impact daily operations. Selby said the airport may have to close for a day or two once T-DOT begins sealing cracks on the runway. Selby said the airport needs to keep the closure to a minimum.
“Many of the businesses here depend on this airport,” Selby said. “As you know, at this time of year, we are doing 120-150 operations a day of aircraft, and a lot of businesses around here depend on this airport for freight, inbound freight, and outbound freight, and for their corporate people coming and going. And not to mention just the general public traveling and the private owners, who use the airport.”
Selby said the repairs are expected to be completed by the end of this week, but depending on what T-DOT discovers as they seal cracks, it could extend into next week.