REBUILT RUNWAY OPENS AT MCGEE TYSON

When the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA) embarked on the reconstruction of runway 5L/23R at McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), they soon realized it would grow into the largest component of the even larger Airfield Modernization Plan they had envisioned. Not only would the runway be rebuilt, leveled, and lengthened, but it would also come to include relocating a gas main, reconstructing some taxiways, completely rebuilding the storm drain system, replacing 5,000 airfield lights with LEDs and new circuits, and installing the equipment for an ILS approach. The largest construction project in the airport’s 84-year history, it required moving more than 1 million cubic yards of earth, rerouting a municipal roadway, and was also able to recycle 100% of the old runway concrete into filler material for the new runway.

The new runway opened in December to much praise from all agencies and businesses involved or affected by the project. The multi-phased effort took more than ten years of planning and construction, and its $134 million price tag was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the Air National Guard Bureau, and the MKAA. The runway was lengthened from 9,000 ft to 10,000 ft and will enable greater capacity for commercial operations as well as aircraft of the 134th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard, also based at TYS. The modernization program is planned to attract new tenants, businesses and jobs, provide a high-quality experience for passengers and maintain the airport’s competitiveness.