72-Hour Runway Rehab: WV Paving’s Smooth Landing

When the main runway at West Virginia International Yeager Airport needed repairs, the Central West Virginia Regional Airport Authority commissioned the rehabilitation of its 6,500-foot runway with a complete structural overlay. West Virginia Paving (WV Paving), a CRH company, was the only local provider with both the capacity and expertise to meet the 72-hour time constraint for the unique project’s final phase.

Paving against the clock

Spanning three separate contract packages, the project required milling 305,000 square yards of pavement and placing over 63,000 tons of asphalt. The initial two phases were largely accomplished during overnight shifts, with crews working under the constraint of vacating the runway by 6:00 am, allowing for commercial flights to resume. The final phase – a partial two-inch mill and fill job, and a two-inch overlay – was completed during a tightly scheduled 72-hour planned airport shutdown.

To meet the tight time frame, WV Paving relied on their two local asphalt plants to produce and transport the material to their respective crews, as well as dedicated trucks to remove the milled asphalt. During phase three, a total of 85 trucks were in continuous operation, supported by 250 team members.

With four seven-foot milling machines (equipped with GPS and laser-levelling systems) in operation, the crew removed 123,000 square yards of material in just 16 hours. Following behind the milling operation, WV Paving used two pavers (set up for a 26-foot mat) in echelon formation to place roughly 23,000 tons of asphalt in just 54 hours.

Impressive results win industry award

The extensive crew, and chosen operations, meant WV Paving reduced the number of longitudinal joints on the runway, ensuring a smooth finish with fewer potential weak points. A final post-project survey confirmed that the runway met the specified elevation tolerance within a quarter inch. Quality control analysis also revealed outstanding smoothness, with an average International Roughness Index (IRI) of just 66.5 inches per mile (an IRI of less than 95 can be considered to have a good or very good ride quality, according to the Federal Highway Administration).

WV Paving’s impressive work was awarded the inaugural 2023 MidAtlantic’s Best Pavement Award. Given the success of the project, the team won a bid at the Greenbriar Valley Airport in Lewisville, WV, and most recently, led to the company being selected to provide paving services for an $8.3 million infrastructure investment to expand that airport’s general aviation apron by more than 185,000 square feet, which commenced in July 2025.