MidAmerica Airport Labors To Clear Its Runway
$4,000 Budget For Snow Removal At Airport
MASCOUTAH, IL (January 1, 2001) -- If you think you have a long driveway to shovel when it snows, try clearing the runway at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.
Workers use plows and giant brooms to clear the snow there, and making the 10,000 foot long, 150 foot wide runway usable takes time and costs money. The airport's budget for 2001 provides $4,000 for snow removal.
The airport has a maintenance staff of eight and in a snow or ice storm, the staff splits into two groups of four to battle the elements. Each group of four works a 12-hour shift. When a 9 inch snowstorm buried the metroeast on December 13, crews worked 12-hour shifts for four straight days.
"The only time we can stop is to get fuel," said Mike Conner, the director of operations at the airport.
It takes a plow six minutes to get from one end of the runway to the other, and in order to clear the entire runway, the plow must make four to five trips down the runway, meaning it can take as long as 30 minutes to do the job. Plows follow the brooms down the runway, Conner said, adding that storms like the 9 inch event two weeks ago are difficult for plows to keep up with, since the area they plow gets covered with snow as soon as they plow it.
What's worse than a major snowstorm is a major ice storm, Conner said. "When you get ice, it's three times as hard."
One reason clearing ice is more difficult is the runway itself prevents airport maintenance workers from using certain tools. The runway at MidAmerica is grooved. That prevents workers from using steel blades or other metal tools, similar to what some residents might use on their steps at home, to clear the runway of ice. What crews have to use instead is potassium chloride. Temperature sensors embedded in the runways tell Conner and his staff if runways and taxiways need to be cleared of ice.
The most expensive snow and ice clearing procedure at the airport, de-icing airplanes, is one Pan Am pays for, Conner said. The airline must ask airport workers to de-ice the airplanes, which it has done four times this winter. Pan Am must pay workers $41.80 an hour when they're de-icing planes, and must pay $4 for each gallon of de-icing fluid used on a plane.
Normally, Conner said, between 50 and 100 gallons of liquid are used to de-ice a plane, a procedure that takes 10 to 15 minutes. Pan Am must also pay a disposal fee of 10 cents a gallon for each used.
Airport workers also help with the clearing of Scott Air Force Base's 8,000 foot long runway if needed. According to Conner, in a severe storm, efforts are usually concentrated on keeping MidAmerica's runway cleared.
Information provided by the Belleville News-Democrat
David Van Den Berg Article © Belleville News-Democrat
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