Minden-Tahoe Airport Taxiway Z Construction

The construction project involves creating Taxiway Z, a partial parallel taxiway on the east side of Runway 16/34, along with three connector taxiways. The main purpose of this taxiway is to provide access to and from a new hangar development area on the eastern side of the airport. The design of the asphalt pavement section takes into account aircraft weighing up to 150,000lbs DWG, anticipating the use of the area by large corporate and firefighting aircraft such asBAE146 and C-130.

The project required extensive grading and drainage elements, including a detailed study to determine the appropriate size for a large box culvert that will be installed beneath the taxiway. Due to budget limitations, only a portion of the southern half of the taxiway and one connector taxiway were funded and constructed in the first phase. The second phase, funded by a FY20AIP supplemental grant, covered the remaining part of the southern half of the taxiway and a section of the northern half. The final phase, scheduled for FY22, will encompass the remainder of the northern half of the taxiway and two connector taxiways.

As future portions of the parallel taxiway are expected to connect directly to aircraft parking aprons, retroreflective taxiway edge markers will be installed instead of taxiway edge lights. The total construction cost for Phases 1 and 2 amounted to $5.8M, with an estimated cost of $2.3Mfor Phase 3. Armstrong Consultants not only provided design and engineering services but also conducted construction monitoring and management for this project.