Mather Airport

In September 1993, Mather Air Force Base, east of Sacramento in then-unincorporated Rancho Cordova, was decommissioned, and the majority of the base was transferred to Sacramento County to operate. In 1995, the airfield reopened as Mather Airport. The airport was designed to handle the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress — a long-range, eight-engine bomber that weighs 390,000 pounds and can carry a 70,000-pound payload. In 2021, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to turn its modest airport operations into an air cargo hub.

Over the years, that runway had become dilapidated, and McGuire and Hester was brought in to repair it. This included the following work: 24,870 SY of asphalt grinding, 4,375 TN of asphalt paving, 150 LF of joint sealant, and 5,250 SF of pavement markings. Approximately 4,300 tons of asphalt grindings generated from the project were recycled and will produce future aggregate products.

The runway was only closed on weekends from Saturday at 9 am through Monday at 3 pm. This tight window made it imperative to plan and schedule all tasks thoroughly. Our primary focus was to ensure we met the opening deadline. Additional pressure was added, as liquidated damages were assessed by the hour if the runway opening was delayed. We not only met the deadline but exceeded it, and the project team’s efforts produced a successful project that all parties involved were very pleased with.

There were many concerns about airport safety which we handled with extreme care and diligence. As the work zone was adjacent to an active runway, our team addressed these concerns by working closely with the Airside Operations team to minimize the inconvenience for aviators. The result of our collaboration was opening the runway early, allowing air traffic to land and take off once again, and positioning the airport for future expansion.