Massive Earthmoving Project Underway at RST
Credit: Mead & Hunt
From moving nearly two million cubic yards of earth to reconstructing a crucial runway, the ongoing work at RST is positioning the airport to better serve Rochester and the SE MN region. The scale of our earthmoving endeavors is just the latest example of how we’re paving the way for a safer and more efficient future!
A massive earthmoving project is underway at RST around the clock this winter, reshaping the landscape to pave the way for runway improvements.
Crews are relocating nearly 1.9 million cubic yards of earth – enough to fill U.S. Bank Stadium – to improve pilots’ visibility between two of the airport’s runways and to build the grade for the eventual 1,647-foot extension of Runway 3. Runway 3 is being extended to improve safety and allow it to accommodate airport users when the primary runway is under construction and unavailable in the 2030s.
The earthmoving project involves removing two hills that have flanked RST’s main runway intersection since the airport was built in the early 1960s. The removed material – mainly dirt, clay and silt -- is being transported approximately one mile south to build the grade for the runway reconstruction and extension expected to be completed in 2027. The removal of these hills also improves runway visibility, meeting current FAA standards and increasing safety by allowing pilots on one runway to clearly see the other runway.
The work, which began in October, is “one of the largest earth-moving projects in the state of Minnesota” and is being done 24 hours a day, six days a week, said Matt Wagner, the aviation project manager from Mead & Hunt who is overseeing RST’s efforts. This continuous operation is crucial due to Minnesota’s winter temperatures. “It’s a little unusual to be doing a grade project in Minnesota in the winter,” said Wagner. “If we did grading work just during the day and left the ground overnight, it would be frozen again in the morning. They are constantly working the material to keep it from freezing.”
Approximately a dozen large off-road trucks, including Caterpillar 745 articulated trucks (with tires as tall as an average person), along with excavators, bulldozers, rollers, and other equipment – roughly 20 pieces in total – operate at any given time. Around 20 operators work the day shifts and a slightly smaller number work overnight shifts. During a few dangerously cold stretches this winter, work has been temporarily halted.
Despite the challenges of winter construction, the frozen ground offers an advantage. “The haul roads are frozen,” Wagner said, “so we’re not dealing with muddy spring conditions that vehicles would sink into.” As of mid-February, the earthmoving project is approximately 25 percent complete, with all earth set to be moved and graded by Dec. 31, 2025.
RST is in the fifth of seven phases of its Runway 2/20 Safety Project, which kicked off in 2021. The fifth phase construction project is budgeted at $14.5 million. Phases 6 and 7 are slated for 2026 and 2027. Funding for all phases is made possible through federal, state and local dollars.
From moving nearly two million cubic yards of earth to reconstructing a crucial runway, the ongoing work at RST is positioning the airport to better serve our city and region. The scale of our earthmoving endeavors is just the latest example of how we’re paving the way for a safer and more efficient future!