72 HOURS ‘TIL DEPARTURE: PAVING YEAGER AIRPORT The Mid-Atlantic Masterpiece Award honors the top paving project completed the previous year across Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. A single submission is permitted per state, and the project is rated on the quality of materials, workmanship, and complexity. During the Mid-Atlantic Asphalt Expo and Conference in December, the inaugural 2022 Mid-Atlantic Masterpiece Pavement was awarded to West Virginia Paving, Inc. from Dunbar, West Virginia, for its work repaving the West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW). History of the Airport Originally called the Kanawha Airport, CRW opened for commercial service in December of 1947 after three years of construction. In 1985, the airport was renamed after then-Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot. Chuck Yeager was born in 1923 in Lincoln County, West Virginia, and is well known for being the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight in October 1947 in a Bell X-1. Yeager Airport sees an average of 100 flight operations per day: 63% general aviation, 13% air taxi, 15% military, and 9% airline. The airport also hosts the McLaughlin Air National Guard Base, home to eight C-130 Hercules aircraft and the 130th Airlift Wing, an Air Mobility Command unit. Project Overview The CRW runway 5-23 rehabilitation was a high-profile project commissioned by the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority. It was completed over three years and concluded in September 2022. West Virginia (WV) Paving managed all paving operations across three contract packages, ultimately installing a complete structural overlay of the 150 by 6,500-foot runway with two and four inches of P-401 asphalt. Additionally, West Virginia Paving milled and filled three inches on the outer edges (60 feet long) and reconstructed isolated deep pavement sections. In 2021, the second phase required a mill and fill of two inches in the center 30-foot keel section and correction of the elevation for roughly 5,100 feet of the runway surface. Finally, the third phase began in 2022, during which WV Paving placed the final structural overlay, grooved the runway, placed permanent pavement markings, regraded soil in the runway safety areas, and replaced edge and guard lighting. Cumulatively, WV Paving milled roughly 305,000 square yards and placed over 63,000 tons of P-401 asphalt. Much of the work was done with time restrictions, often performed at night before the airfield opened for commercial traffic. However, the final mill and fill (150' x 4700' at 2 inches) and overlay (150' x 6250' at 2 inches) were placed during a 72-hour window. continues on page 20 △ VAASPHALT.ORG 19
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