St. George Public Works Department

 NEW ST. GEORGE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT SUB‐GRADE AND ASPHALT DESIGN MEETS FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION STANDARDS
St. George, UT.‐Recently there have been comments made by individuals in the community about the sub‐grade and surface design of the new St. George Municipal Airport with regard to soil composition and asphalt thickness. These unfounded comments do not accurately reflect the engineering detail and soils testing that has been performed prior to construction to ensure a runway that is safe and expandable as air service needs change in the future.
An airport’s capacity to handle large aircraft in today’s environment is predicated on several criteria. Primary among these is meeting the Federal Aviation Administration’s current standards and requirements for commercial service airports, and the specific types of aircraft that will utilize our new facility. Loosely translated, our new airport must provide runways, taxiways, clear zones, and other facilities that are long enough, have the appropriate weight bearing capacities, and appropriate separations to allow for the safe and efficient operation of those aircraft expected to use the new airport.
During the initial design phase of the St. George Replacement Airport, studies were conducted to determine what the current and future market demands might be, and identify the future “fleet mix” or types of aircraft that could be expected to operate into St. George. Based on those studies it was determined that the future fleet mix serving St. George would include all of those aircraft types currently serving our airport, plus larger regional jet type aircraft including the Canadair 700 and 900 series, and ultimately even larger aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and/or the Airbus A‐319 or A‐320 series aircraft.
Not all of these aircraft will arrive at once however. It can be reasonably expected that opening day of the new St. George Municipal Airport could see regular service from regional jet type aircraft. Based on those assumptions, the initial weight bearing capacity for the new runway will be predicated on regular service from aircraft in the Canadair Regional Jet family, requiring approximately four‐inches of asphalt runway over an appropriately engineered sub‐grade construction. Larger aircraft up to the B‐737 types can still utilize this runway on an occasional basis. However, as service from these larger aircraft becomes more frequent in future years due to market growth in the St. George region, it will become appropriate to overlay the existing runway surface with an additional asphalt layer to approximately eight‐inches to accommodate the regular flexing and wear and tear caused by the additional weight and regular service from these larger aircraft. This represents a phased approach to accommodate such future aircraft traffic, wherein specific facilities such as the runway are designed to accommodate forecast aircraft traffic levels on opening day, and then are systematically upgraded or strengthened as the market grows, and demand in frequency and type of aircraft increases. With the exception of opening day runway thickness, all other parameters of the new St. George Municipal Airport will be ready and able to accommodate regular service from larger aircraft, and meet future market demands on opening day. Then as the frequency of larger aircraft increases, the runway will be strengthened accordingly. 

Contact Tamera Sherman for all of your St George Real Estate needs!

Tamara Sherman
(435) 705-4882