Construction completed on Kodiak

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Janine Thibault
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Construction on Kodiak Street began Jan. 3 after a leak was located in a heat line. Four base housing buildings were affected, leaving residents without heat. The completion of the pipeline construction enabled families that were temporarily relocated to return to heated homes this week.

With temperatures reaching as low as 44 degrees below, it was imperative that families were moved into a stable environment with comfortable living arrangements.

Although the event caused the families some inconvenience, it was widely understood that ignoring the leak would run the risk of losing the buildings due to the cold temperatures. There was a general understanding among most families that this situation called for immediate action to be taken, said Capt. Callaway, 354th Fighter Wing Civil Engineer chief of operations support.

The Civil Engineer Squadron worked through conditions that made their job harder than normal. Just as there was a risk with the houses being exposed to the harsh temperatures the Airmen, as well as equipment, were also at risk.

As the snow barn shop experienced, digging in winter is like digging through concrete, said Tech. Sgt. Manuel Lara, 354th CES snow barn flight day shift NCO in charge.

"A job that normally takes an hour to complete took a week," he said.

Using an excavator, workers dug approximately eight feet down and 300 feet in total.

In these cold temperatures, the equipment cannot operate as needed without the threat of the hydraulics freezing. For this reason the hydraulics are covered in bags and heated using the support of the heating ventilation air conditioning shop.

Along with the Kodiak construction, the snow barn and HVAC shops had to maintain their normal operations. Throughout construction, the airfield and cold weather service calls remained a priority. The snow barn worked 24 hours a day to guarantee the situation was resolved as soon as possible.

After the trench was finished, new steel piping was laid by contractors. Because the pipes were directly underground, bags were wrapped around the metal to provide a barrier against the freezing ground surrounding the heat line.

"We found a problem and we fixed it. It took a lot of cooperation between the U.S. government and different agencies to make this work, but we all partnered together to make sure the families in these 16 units were taken care of," said Capt. Callaway. "We couldn't have done it without everybody. It's impressive we were able to make it happen as quickly as we did."

When dealing with the safety and comfort of Airmen and their families, as well as the survival of government resources, steps will be taken to ensure they are cared for.

The dedication shown by the 354th CES to ensure the safety of residents and resources is a valuable characteristic as an Airman. They worked throughout the day in a variety of conditions to provide support for those who were displaced by the construction.