North Central West Virginia Airport Director Rick Rock’s first winter of the job in that capacity let him know immediately the value of properly working snow removal equipment. And the final winter storm of 2015 reinforced that importance.

 

“My very first year, it was right before Christmas, and we got hit with a storm that put down about 21 inches of snow,” said Rock. “It was one of those storms where some of our guys worked more than 30 hours straight to keep the runway clear because once you get behind, you just have to wait it out.”

 

Rock said you can count on at least one substantial storm each year, even if not of the 21-inch variety. And he said you don’t need that much snowfall to cause problems if equipment isn’t working properly.

 

“Our runway broom had just finished clearing the runway and the snow blower was finishing up when the clutch went out on the broom,” said Rock. “The only thing that was positive was that the weather system moved out and we were essentially done clearing the runway or we likely would have had to shut down operations.”

 

While the clutch has since been fixed, Rock and Ron Cochran, who heads up all things mechanical at the NCWV Airport, both know that age and standard wear and tear are catching up with the aforementioned broom and the snow blower.  Because of that, the NCWV Airport is advertising to purchase an additional broom and snow blower – along with doing another project – that could approach $1 million, Rock said.

 

The broom, which Rock said is the more critical piece of equipment, brushes and grooms as well as loosens the snow to get if off the runway. The blower, which he said often works in tandem, finishes off the job doing what its name implies – blowing it off the runway.

 

“With these purchases, we’ll have some redundancy that will allow us to really get on top of a major snow event with four pieces of equipment and also not have to cease operations if one of the older pieces break down,” said Rock. “When you’re bringing in people from Orlando and from Washington, you have to have that runway clear or your operations simply cease.”

 

The two pieces of equipment are responsible for clearing 7,800 feet of runway that is 150 feet wide. Rock said that’s a lot of area to clear.

 

As for the third project, Rock said it’s related to the recently completed runway safety area where the runway was expanded as required by the FAA. The project involves the removal of a sediment control pond that was put in place temporarily as the major earth-moving took place.

 

“It’s a significant project that will close out most of the punch list for that project. It could be in the $200,000 range and the two pieces of equipment are likely going to run between $600,000 and $800,000.”

 

All three projects will be funded through the FAA Airport Improvement Projects (AIP) fund where the NCWV was again awarded $1 million. The dollars provided by the FAA, which come as the result of the airport having more than 10,000 passengers annually, has to be used for projects aimed at improving the airport or keeping operations going. The recent terminal improvements, which were just short of $1 million, were funded by AIP dollars.

 

Click HERE to read about those improvements.