New runway, other improvements set for Seguin airfield Published Aug. 1, 2014 By Robert Goetz Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- An extensive construction project underway at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph's Seguin Auxiliary Airfield will result in a new runway and other improvements. The project, which will cost nearly $10 million, started May 1 and is scheduled to end Oct. 31, Joseph Domeier, 502nd Civil Engineer Squadron project manager, said. "The project involves demolition of the existing runway, replacement of the runway, grading of the entire airfield, stabilization of the existing soils and construction of a new taxiway and parking apron," he said. The 12th Air Force's 820th RED HORSE, which is based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., is tasked with construction. "A crew from the RED HORSE squadron will strip the asphalt surface of the runway and rebuild the aggregate and subgrade below it," Domeier said. "The runway will be crowned in the middle, with a slight slope on each side, to comply with Air Force requirements." The project will also include removal of pavement from two abandoned taxiways, he said. A portion of one of those taxiways will be turned into a road for emergency vehicles. The runway, which is nearly 10,000 feet long, will be widened to 150 feet with two 10-foot-wide shoulders. The project is a joint partnership of the 820th RED HORSE Squadron and the 502nd Air Base Wing, Domeier said. Air Education and Training Command and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center are providing funding and administrative support. Beginning in July, crews will be on the job 24 hours a day to meet the completion deadline, he said. "We will be doing everything possible to minimize disruptions for nearby residents," Domeier said. The 12th Flying Training Wing uses the airfield in its instructor pilot training mission, though that training has been suspended pending completion of the project. Located east of Seguin, the airfield was originally constructed with three runways in 1941. The airfield also provides support when disasters strike the region, such as Hurricane Rita in 2005. It was used as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's staging area for the transport of mobile housing units to the Bastrop area when a wildfire ravaged Bastrop County in 2011.
