Yeager Airport Runway 5
Built in 1947 and billed as “West Virginia’s largest airport and gateway to the world,” Yeager Airport covers 767 acres, has a single asphalt runway, and hosts McLaughlin Air National Guard Base.
An engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) constructed in 2007 extended Runway 5 and proved its value in 2010 when it stopped a US Airways jet. However, in March 2015, the 240-foot-high reinforced fill emergency overrun structure upon which the EMAS sat suffered a catastrophic slope failure. The resulting collapse swallowed buildings and caused major flood damage to upstream structures by blocking a portion of Elk Two Mile Creek. The collapse also destabilized the surrounding area and left a 140-foot-high vertical face of partially reinforced fill looming over the massive debris field which obliterated Keystone Drive.
The Airport Authority enlisted Schnabel to develop a mitigation plan to stabilize the vertical face and debris field. Interim stabilization consisted of establishing a displaced threshold on the runway; temporary surface drainage; erosion protection; staging and access requirements; design of waste fill disposal areas; emergency contingencies; and development of an instrumentation, monitoring and testing program. The mitigation project dictated tight deadlines and risk-based decision making while focusing on safety and efficiency.
As the cleanup was nearing completion, a risk-based decision process was used to evaluate long term alternatives for reconstruction. Realizing benefits of new EMAS materials and a slight regrading of the runway allowed a retaining wall to be sited that would allow reconstruction. The soldier pile and concrete plank wall was embedded into the underlying rock and relied on ground anchors to resist lateral loads. Towering about 85 feet to the runway level, the soil earth pressures would have been excessive to resist with this structure. Schnabel developed an innovative solution to implement geofoam fill material for the upper ⅔ of the wall, solving the earth pressure challenges and optimizing both structural design and constructability. Numerical modeling was confirmed with automated field instrumentation to identify deformations and forces as the wall was constructed from the bottom up.
During the construction phase, Schnabel provided construction management and inspection services including onsite staff to observe the construction process for compliance with the contract documents as well as attend project coordination meetings, compile field records for the airport and the FAA, reviewing submittals, responding to RFIs, facilitating any design changes necessitated by differing field conditions, and reviewing real time instrumentation monitoring data throughout construction.