FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Army’s second longest runway, Campbell Army Airfield at Fort Campbell, will cease operations for repairs April 10. Resumption of operations is expected in late July or early August.
The $28 million project includes resurfacing the runway, repairing ramps, taxiways, adding lights to the secondary runway, and moving lights to make them easier to maintain on the main runways. The repairs also will decrease the runway width by 50 feet to the industry standard of 150 feet in width. Its overall length will decrease from 11,822 feet to 10,500 feet. The excess portion of the runways will become paved overrun that serve as a safety measure to decrease damage to aircraft on takeoff and landings if something goes wrong.
The heliport at Campbell Army Airfield will continue to operate during the repairs, so it will not interfere with the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade operations. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment operates from sod areas near the runway and will continue flying without interruptions during the repairs.
During the repairs, residents of Fort Campbell, Clarksville and Montgomery County will notice increased activity and noise levels at Sabre Army Airfield. C-17 aircraft will divert to Sabre and larger aircraft will land at Nashville International Airport. This will have no impact on welcome home ceremonies, which will continue.
The flightpath for take-off from Saber will have planes flying over Woodlawn before adjusting course. Sabre is surrounded by trees which serve as a buffers and reduces noise before it reaches nearby housing areas. However, planes taking off will have engines at full power and it can be noisy once they clear the tree line.
The flightpath for aircraft landing at Sabre takes planes over Outlaw Field at Clarksville Regional Airport as they descend. So, people who live and work in the vicinity of Gate 1, especially Gardner Hills, should expect increased noise levels. However, since an aircraft’s engines are idling during decent, landings are relatively quiet.
The first flight is scheduled to land at Sabre during the afternoon on April 10, but there will be night flights which is what people will notice most, especially when flights occur around midnight. While Fort Campbell strives to be a good neighbor, noise from military activity is an environmental impact, which can have negative effects on the surrounding community.
People affected by noise generated by Fort Campbell have an outlet to officially notify the post about noise, so those concerns can be heard and used in noise abatement efforts. People can file a noise complaint by going online and downloading the noise complaint form. Go to the Fort Campbell website at www.campbell.army.mil and click on the PAO section of the menu. From there click on the noise complaint form link, fill out the printed out form and email it to one of the community relations managers listed on the form or fax it to 270-798-6247. For questions, call 270-461-1277 or 270-798-4365.