Dodge County Airport (KUNU) is a general aviation facility with fixed-base operations, making it a popular destination for travelers and regional fly-in events. When the airport’s 4,028’ x 75’ crosswind runway was beginning to show its age, MSA was selected to provide design and construction engineering services for upgrades. The airport has an active flight training program as well, which frequently utilizes this crosswind runway, so it was imperative to complete the runway rehabilitation project with efficiency to return the airport to full operational functionality.

During the preliminary design phase, MSA utilized soil boring information collected at the beginning of the project to create options for addressing the deteriorating runway. Upon final analysis of the data and designs, a pavement rehabilitation was recommended to the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics (WBOA) and KUNU as the most cost-effective alternative.

The existing pavement section had very thick sections of asphalt and some thin layers of base aggregate, likely due to wet soils at the time of the previous construction project.  To keep the project in the rehabilitation category, the existing pavement thickness would be milled, base aggregate hauled in and placed on top of the remaining asphalt, then the two layers would be pulverized and left in place creating the new base layer for paving. Underdrains were designed on both sides of the runway to facilitate removal of free water from the clay soils, prolonging the pavement life.  A prior project more than 10 years ago had replaced the runway edge lighting system with lights mounted on base cans instead of stakes and the core of the system was in good shape, so MSA designed the adjustment of the base cans to match the new runway profile and replaced the fixtures with energy-saving LED units.

MSA provided on-site construction oversight of the project beginning in August of 2022 with a staff of two providing guidance to the contractor and ensuring work was performed as specified. Crews worked long days and Saturdays due to the amount of project work and a delayed start to the project due to supply chain issues. Challenges included needing to adjust pulverizing operations in areas due to the varying pavement thicknesses, and needing to perform reconstruction of some areas of the runway using a larger stone material under the pulverized base course before paving could begin.

Paving was completed near the end of October 2022 and the runway was opened to traffic in November after applying temporary centerline pavement markings for winter operations.  The project was completed on time and under budget with restoration completed in spring, 2023.