Cullman Regional Airport unveils reconstructed runway

Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) proudly joined Cullman Regional Airport (CMD) on October 20 to cut the ribbon on the newly-refurbished Runway 2/20. While the fully-reconstructed main runway has been open since January, some additional finishing touches had to be done before the official celebration could take place.

GMC Aviation began working with the airport board on planning this project in 2014 to address maintenance needed on the runway and other airfield pavement. “We needed maintenance in several areas,” Airport Manager Ben Harrison recalls. “We sat down with [GMC] to better understand what the problems were and how we were going to fix all of those problems.”

After receiving input from the Alabama Department of Transportation and guidance from the FAA, the airport leveraged GMC’s expertise to develop a plan to overhaul the airfield in a highly-prioritized manner.

The full-depth reclamation required shutting down the runway and completely reconstructing the previous pavement before rebuilding the 5,500-foot-long, 100-foot-wide landing strip, and marked a major planning milestone for the general aviation facility. The updated pavement structure and associated improvements will serve the airport well for 20 years or more.

The $4.2 million project was primarily funded with a $3.6 million FAA grant. The nearly $600,000 contributed by the city, county and state paid for portions not eligible for FAA funding, such as maintaining the runway’s 100-foot width rather than reducing it to 75 feet. The city and county spent additional funds to clear the runway approach.

“We’ve been fortunate to serve as Cullman Regional’s airport engineering consultant for more than a decade,” Natalie Hobbs, GMC senior aviation engineer and CMD project manager, said. “The reconstruction of Runway 2/20 is a significant development, and one that sets the airport up for even more growth in the coming years.”

With the runway completed, the airport is planning for the future. As CMD’s airport engineering partner, GMC is working with the airport to update its Airport Layout Plan (ALP), which will outline future improvements and projects for the next five years and beyond. Learn more about the reconstructed runway project in Airport Improvement’s October 2022 issue, featuring Cullman Regional Airport.