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Airfield Lighting Project Off to a Bright Start

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100214-01
Release Date: 2/14/2010 10:39:00 AM

By Tammy Prine, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans Public Affairs

NEW ORLEANS (NNS) -- The airfield at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NAS JRB) New Orleans will soon be much brighter thanks to a $14.9 million project funded under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

Work on the stimulus recovery package airfield lighting project began the first week of February with a groundbreaking ceremony at the edge of the runway.

"The title of this project is a bit of a misnomer," said Michael Scorsone, Navy Facilities Southeast, public works department construction manager. "The project includes demolition, removal and replacement of existing runway and taxi-way lights with energy efficient LED lights, adding guidance signs, transformers and pads and much more."

"The deteriorated conditions of the existing runways and lighting are inadequate and increasingly unsafe," he said. "The goal of this project is to end up with a state-of-the-art runway."

The project was awarded to Atlantic Electric, LLC, from Charleston, S.C. Company Vice President Michael Richer said his company is not new to this type of work.

"For more than 40 years our company has been working lighting systems for everything from small infrastructures to almost an entire city," said Richer. "After Hurricane Hugo devastated the Charleston area in September 1989, we were a major part of the recovery."

"This is a stimulus design/build project and with creating jobs and hiring local we are stimulating the local economy," he added. "I can't say exactly how many jobs we will create but this type of project takes approximately 80,000 man hours to complete."

According to Cmdr. Chris Barcomb, NAS JRB operations officer, this upgrade to the airfield will benefit the base tenants and everyone who uses the runway.

"In 1942, the Naval Air Station New Orleans, then located along Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, became a primary training base for student naval aviators," said Barcomb. "We continue in that same spirit as we pursue our goal of making JRB New Orleans the premier training base on the Gulf Coast.

"This project will contribute to a safer, more capable operational and training environment that our tenants and detachments can take full advantage of. Our hope is to continue to provide exceptional air traffic, transient and local services while we improve our infrastructure. Without a doubt, the efforts of our tenant squadrons, Atlantic Electric, and the professionals on the JRB New Orleans team will produce an exceptional aviation facility we will all be proud to call home."

Other elements of the project include wave-off lights, extended approach lighting system, night vision device additions, conventional helipad lighting and the installation of an instrument landing system to the longer of the base runways.

The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011.