Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets (2015)

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46 A large majority of small airports with limited budgets can be found in Alaska. This section addresses the unique characteristics of snow removal operations at Alaskan rural airports that have gravel runways. The Alaska DOT&PF owns 254 rural airports in the state of Alaska. The DOT&PF is divided into three regions: Southeast, Central, and Northern; most of the rural airports are located in the Central and Northern regions. Eighty-two percent (82%) of communities in Alaska have no road access and rely on water or aviation transportation. In the winter season, it is almost exclusively air transporta- tion that serves the outlying communities. It is difficult to pave runways in the rural areas, so gravel runways prevail. ACRP Synthesis 49: Helping New Maintenance Hires Adapt to the Airport Operating Environ- ment describes the training of personnel responsible for maintenance at the rural airports in Alaska. It was noted in the case example that local communities do not have the resources, either the budgets or the equipment, to maintain the airports, so the DOT&PF takes on the responsibilities. WINTER CHALLENGES With airports being the primary connection to the rest of the world for communities in Alaska, keeping them open during the winter (and summer) is quite challenging. Funding Funding is difficult for the Department of Statewide Aviation. Alaska is not a block grant state but it is one of the 13 public land states identified in chapter two that receive special consideration in AIP legislation. AIP formulas benefit Alaska and the other public land grant states by making FAA grant contribution at the 93.75% level, rather than at the normal 90% level. Through additional policy determinations, the DOT&PF is allowed to pool its entitlement funds from commercial service airports and to disperse funds in ways that benefit statewide aviation devel- opment. For this reason, many of the rural airports are included in the state airport system plan and the NPIAS, thereby becoming eligible to receive funds for SRE and SREB. Even though funds are pooled, the need for projects and resources far exceed the amount of funds available at any given time. The state has a prioritization process and takes a long-term approach to airport development. A contract awarded for snow removal is spread out over 12 equal monthly payments. In exchange, the contractor is to check on the airport each day and conduct snow removal operations when accu- mulations exceed two inches. State contracts for snow removal are awarded to the lowest bidder. Personnel Many Alaskan remote communities are very small, some with populations of fewer than 50 people. The pool of available contractors is limited by the scarcity of residents in the community; as a result, finding individuals who can operate heavy snow removal equipment can be difficult at times. On occasion, the availability of only one or two contractors and the low bid procurement process can chapter seven RURAL ALASKAN AIRPORTS

47 combine to result in higher than expected costs and less than optimal performance. Managerial oversight is often difficult because the managers are located several hundred miles away. On-site oversight requires the expense of chartering an aircraft to the community. Training To assist in training the contractor, the state has developed a training DVD on snow removal opera- tions at airports. The DVD provides orientation training to a contractor (Contractor’s Orientation 2014), and a Rural Airport Maintenance Manual accompanies the DVD (Appendix M). If possible, the regional manager will attempt to visit the airport to further instruct a new contractor in operations. In recent years, the DOT&PF has partnered with unions and training centers to provide specialized heavy equipment training to contractors. This has proven to be valuable in terms of improving effec- tiveness and reducing damage to airfield surfaces, building, and equipment. Equipment A typical rural airport will have one road grader and one loader, though no standard equipment requirement exists (Figures 21 and 22). A storage facility is built to house the equipment and protect it from the harsh winter conditions. Using AIP funding, the state purchases the equipment and builds the storage unit. General state funds are used to hire a local contractor to maintain the gravel runway. The grader is capable of placing a plow on its front, along with the underbody blade. Data were collected and synthesized on the number and age of equipment for the rural airports managed by the Alaska DOT&PF. Not all Alaska rural airports are included. The 383 airports FIGURE 21 Typical grader with underbody and front plow used at Alaskan rural airports. Photo credit: J. Worrall, Alaska DOT&PF. FIGURE 22 Typical articulated frontend loader with attach- ments used at Alaskan rural airports. Photo credit: J. Worrall, Alaska DOT&PF.

48 identified are those that could be categorized into the GA ASSET categories of basic, local, regional, and NPCS airports. None of the airports in the database were identified as reliever airports. Basic category airports constitute the majority of rural airports in Alaska, twice as many as NPCS airports. Table 37 presents data on the number and age of equipment for each of the airport categories. Alaska DOT&PF’s acquisition process is to use AIP funds for the purchase of SRE for its equipment needs. The averages for each of the categories are slightly above two vehicles per airport. DOT&PF assigns an inventory number to each piece of equipment. An airport could have one prime mover vehicle but several attachments, such as a plow, blower, or bucket. SRE beyond their useful life are not normally retained and are sold as surplus property. In the year 2003, over 45 SRE were acquired. One factor for the large purchase was reduced AIP local share requirement of 6.25% under the Vision 100: Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act of 2003 AIP authorization. Significant sav- ings were realized from the previous 10% requirement. The reduced local share authorization under Vision 100 expired in 2012. The SRE purchased in 2003 are now 12 years old and are eligible for replacement. Maintenance Maintaining the equipment is an issue for Alaskan rural airports and DOT&PF. Since the state owns the equipment, it has responsibility for maintaining it as well. If a piece of equipment breaks, the regional manager has to fly in a mechanic with tools and parts to fix it. A ski-equipped aircraft is nor- mally chartered to transport a mechanic to make necessary repairs. A routine call out for a mechanic can cost upwards of $3,000.00 for basic maintenance. If the equipment breaks while on the runway, or if the winter event persists over a long time, maintenance can be even more problematic. Sub-zero Equipment Age (years) Basic (98 airports) Local (6 airports) Regional (3 airports) NP COMM SVC (39 airports) 25 9 — — — 24 — — — — 23 4 — — 4 22 17 — 2 1 21 15 — 1 4 20 34 7 — 13 19 5 5 — 4 18 2 — — 1 17 3 2 — 3 16 12 — — 8 15 3 — — 3 14 7 3 — 5 13 2 — — 4 12 32 — — 15 11 11 1 1 13 10 5 — — 3 9 11 1 — 5 8 11 — — 6 7 3 — — 5 6 7 — 1 3 5 11 — — 3 4 7 2 — 10 3 10 — — 6 2 3 — — 1 1 10 — — 3 Total SRE 234 21 5 123 Average SRE per Airport 2.4 3.5 1.7 3.2 — = no data. Source: SMQ Airport Services. TABLE 37 NUMBER AND AGE OF EQUIPMENT FOR RURAL AIRPORTS MANAGED BY THE ALASKA DOT&PF

49 temperatures and a lack of common heavy equipment repair tools such as cranes, machine shops, and specialty tools are additional complicating factors. Storage Buildings Another challenge is associated with the equipment and the storage facility. Oftentimes, the SREB is the only large-type shop building of its kind in the village. The building can be an attraction for pur- poses other than the storage of state equipment (Figure 23). However, the building and equipment are purchased with AIP funds and therefore are restricted in their use to airport functions only. A number of communities have had to be issued stern warnings about the use of the heated and insulated building and the equipment for other than airport use. Snow Removal Techniques Although the underbody blade on a grader is valuable in addressing snow and icing conditions, its use is not the same on a gravel runway as it is on a hard surface runway. As with the design of all run- ways, the surface has a graded crown to facilitate water drainage and runoff away from the runway. A snow removal challenge is to avoid removing the centerline crown. Because most rural Alaskan airports do not have snowblowers available, any snow accumulation needs to be pushed past the runway lights. Operating the plows in between the lights poses greater risk for damage and for the buildup of snow in and around the lights. If not hand shoveled, the snow berms and ridges created by the plow will freeze and make it more difficult to clear the accumulation and gain access to a light if it needs maintenance. Figure 24 shows the accumulation of aggregate and snow around the lights and off to the side of the runway. FIGURE 24 Example of frozen gravel berms surrounding light fixtures at Alaskan rural airports. Photo credit: J. Worrall, Alaska DOT&PF. FIGURE 23 Typical snow removal equipment building used at Alaskan rural airports. Photo credit: J. Worrall, Alaska DOT&PF.

50 Another maintenance issue is that some gravel airports in Alaska have a costly surface treatment applied to the top layer to minimize dust and aggregate migration. Known as a dust palliative, it’s a suppressant that binds the material together, similar to a sealcoat. If a road grader or plow scrapes the top of the gravel, it will remove the palliative, which requires costly reapplication when the weather improves. Palliatives are designed to last four to five years. To minimize the disturbance to the palliative and to maintain the crown, a common snow removal technique is to establish a layer of compacted snow early in the season through the use of drag plates, rollers, or by simply driving up and down repeatedly over the surface. The resultant hard pack helps protect the underlying surface course gravel aggregate, provided proper techniques are used. The main technique is to keep the plow or underbody blade slightly raised or in “float” mode on com- pacted snow to minimize scraping down to the aggregate. Rural airports in Alaska can receive upwards of 100 inches of snow a year or more. However, freezing rain poses the greatest difficulty, as the available equipment and the gravel runways are not set up to manage icy situations. During an interview for this report, one manager commented that Alaska is seeing more and more freezing rain events than the pure snow events of the past. An addi- tional problem reported is that as Alaska sees warmer temperatures during the winter and summer months, the permafrost is becoming less thick. This is resulting in more maintenance issues with both gravel and paved runways as the soil beneath the surfaces react to the freeze-thaw cycles. Runway Friction Enhancement De-icing/anti-icing materials do not work well in the very cold arctic climate and are too expensive to use on the gravel runways, though it is used on paved surfaces of the larger airports. Sand is not normally available for many of the airports, and for the gravel runways sand is not needed. If sand is used, it tends to be a coarser mix than the fine-to-medium sand the FAA normally specifies because it is not as effective on the snow-compacted and high-wind driven runways in Alaska. NOTAMs are issued alerting pilots to sand application and the air carriers are involved in the decision-making as to what type and grade of sand is used. Runway Condition Reporting Runway condition reporting is a significant challenge at many small airports in Alaska, in part because the contractor is not stationed at the airport with regular work hours. The requirement is for the contractor to inspect the airfield and perform any snow removal necessary before the first scheduled flight arrival. The training video for the contractors describes the need for them to call the airport’s manager or the FSS employee and inform him or her of the airfield condition. The manager or FSS employee then will enter the information into the NOTAM system. For the rural airports, access to the NOTAM system through the Internet is not generally available. The telephone is the normal mode of communication. NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH Although the majority of airports in the state of Alaska are operated by the state, there are a small number of airports operated by municipalities, villages, and boroughs. One example is the North Slope Borough (NSB), which is similar in governance to a county unit in the lower contiguous states. The NSB covers the northern one-third of Alaska (an area about the size of the state of Minnesota) and operates six different gravel runway airports. The typical operation in and out of the airports is small piston-engine aircraft. Several turbine- engine aircraft used for commercial service, such as the Beechcraft 1900 and Cessna Caravans, also frequent the airports. Occasionally, an airport will see a four-engine cargo DC-6, military C-130, or an emergency Medevac Beechcraft King Air 350 or Lear. Like other Alaskan rural airports, the NSB uses AIP funds to acquire snow removal equipment for the airports. Common equipment includes graders, loaders, and snow plows. The NSB is acquiring

51 two snowblowers this year. Additional equipment, such as rollers and compactors, are provided by the PWD, which has responsibility for maintenance and snow removal at all six airports. One airport manager oversees the six airports, but the maintenance employees are those of the PWD, as employed at each village. Budgets for snow removal at the airports are the responsibility of each village PWD. The airport manager works through the NSB budget process to coordinate capital equip- ment and AIP funding for the various airports. Because aviation is their main transportation access, the NSB and village PWD budgets support airport maintenance and operations. The NSB experiences a very dry snow with little water content. Although annual snowfall accu- mulation is not very high, the winds create significant drifting. A unique aspect of the dry snow is that when it settles on the surface, the wind, coldness, and low humidity will cause the texture, size, and shape of individual snow grains to change and become almost tacky to the touch. For this reason, concern for a poor friction coefficient or braking action is minimal. Snow removal practices are similar to that of other rural airports in that the grader plows are raised slightly above the gravel or are floated on hard-packed snow. The gravel runways have the dust palliative applied to them so care is taken to not grade the top layer. The major human factors concern for equipment operators is not so much the 24-hour darkness as it is the effect of sub-zero temperatures on personnel and the equipment. Although equipment and manpower is available, suitable shelter is not available at all airports. In those situations, equipment may be left outside and are connected to electrical headbolt, water, and oil heaters. If temperatures fall below minus 32 degrees Fahrenheit, a procedure is in place to rotate equip- ment every two hours into a heated shelter. A standard practice before operating any equipment that has been left outside is to check the air filter and other components for accumulation of blown snow. Like rural airports in the rest of Alaska, the NSB is challenged with reporting surface conditions. One advantage the NSB has is that PWD village supervisors are stationed to cover each airport and they have Internet access. Each morning the village supervisor will inspect the airport. Shortly thereafter, the NSB airport manager will conduct a daily online meeting with all supervisors to review conditions. A follow-up daily report is also filed. A select number of trained supervisors are authorized to issue NOTAMs, the airport managers among them. NOTAMs are issued by telephone to the FSS. ENHANCING SNOW REMOVAL OPERATIONS In interviews with the managers of rural airports in Alaska, a number of enhancements were cited that could possibly improve the overall capability of managers to provide oversight and improve- ment in snow removal operations for Alaska’s remote airports. The use of available technologies can aid in better resource management. An example is remote tracking and monitoring capabilities for fuel storage tanks, building heating systems, and equipment usage. The installation of remote telematics on SRE would assist in better management and oversight of assets and runway safety. However, any such technology improvement requires Internet access, which does not currently exist at many of the remote airports. Another example is the use of webcams for depicting weather conditions in common flight cor- ridors and around airports, which Alaska has pioneered. However, the currently installed webcams are not designed to discern runway conditions. Dedicated camera or other instrumentation would likely help in that regard. Installation of automated weather reporting instrumentation at the airports would be a valuable added capability, but Internet access and remote monitoring remains a basic requirement for the technology. Where both state road and airport snow removal responsibilities exists, the DOT&PF has sought to increase efficiency and avoid duplication of equipment purchase by proposing to acquire equipment under AIP using a shared or prorated purchase schedule. Current AIP limitations preclude such use.

52 To address the need for compaction of snow or the removal of ice, the acquisition of compaction rollers and ripper blades would be beneficial. However, neither is currently an AIP-eligible item, as they are considered to be maintenance devices for earthwork rather than for eligible snow operation use. SUMMARY Rural airports in Alaska are often the lifeline of the community to the rest of the continent. For this reason, the state of Alaska manages many of the small rural airports. Among challenges these airports face are capital funding and limited operating budgets, obtaining qualified personnel to conduct snow removal operations, training, and maintenance. Most of the rural airports in Alaska have gravel runways, which pose unique maintenance prob- lems. Using AIP funding, the state provides local communities with snow removal equipment and a storage building, and uses general fund allocations to contract for the maintenance and snow removal activities. Runway condition assessment and reporting of those conditions is another challenge for rural airports. The challenges lie with the training of part-time personnel to be able to assess and make reports, and the lack of technology to communicate reports in an efficient or expedited manner.