CHICKASHA — Contracts totaling $174,600 on two design projects at the municipal airport were approved recently by the Municipal Airport Authority.
The recipient was Parkhill, of Oklahoma City.
One was an $87,100 contract to provide engineering design services for rehabilitation of Runway 18/36 and the parallel taxiway. The rehab project will consist of joint sealant, sealing cracks, concrete patching and full replacement of isolated deteriorated panels that exhibit spalling.
Additionally, in a partnership with a qualified consultant, Parkhill will provide a pavement classification rating to determine the load-bearing capacity of the runway and taxiway. That job will involve use of a non-destructive testing machine from Houston “to acquire data rapidly and economically on the structural properties of pavement and subgrade layers.”
The Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission has estimated the cost of the runway/taxiway improvement project at $500,000. The state agency anticipates paying all but $25,000 of the cost; however, the state share is contingent on the availability of funding. The balance will come from local matching dollars.
The runway and taxiway were last overhauled in 2013, Aeronautics Commission records reflect. The runway is 5,101 feet long and 100 feet wide, according to Shae Mortimer, the city’s marketing and civic engagement manager.
The Airport Authority also awarded Parkhill an $87,500 contract to provide final design services on a prefabricated metal 10-unit aircraft T-hangar.
“We have hangars but need more,” Mortimer said.
The project will include topographic surveys, field surveys, and utility mapping. The authority will use the documents to solicit construction bids.
Chickasha Municipal Airport is classified as a regional business facility where more than two dozen airplanes and two helicopters are based. Most recently, 4,000 takeoffs and landings were logged at the airport during a 12-month period, Aeronautics Commission records indicate.
Every year, an estimated 440,000 visitors arrive in Oklahoma on general aviation aircraft, and approximately 2,425 of them arrive via Chickasha Municipal Airport, the Aeronautics Commission reports.
The annual Wings & Wheels Airshow that attracts thousands of visitors to this Grady County community is scheduled for June 3 at Chickasha’s airport, which is northwest of Chickasha off U.S. Highway 81.
The city council voted unanimously Jan. 3 to contract with David Schultz Airshows to coordinate the event again this year.
More than 5,500 people attended the event in 2022, and attendance has grown every year, Mortimer said.
Last year several aircraft were on display, free Young Eagles flights were offered “and many pilots and their guests flew in for the day,” Mortimer said.
Activities also included a car show.