Routine Maintenance Guidelines

An Airport Sponsor receiving an FAA or WSDOT grant has a legal and binding obligation to keep all aspects of its airport in a safe operating condition. This includes all pavement areas as well as areas adjacent to the active pavements such as shoulders, safety areas, overruns, Runway Protection Zones, and so on.

It is recommended that the following strategies be considered for a successful airport maintenance program:

1. Regularly inspect all paved areas of the airport and document all inspection activity.

2. Provide a method of tracking all maintenance activities that occur as a result of these inspections. These need to be reported to the FAA and WSDOT Aviation. This is important because this information is used to update the APMS records and is required to remain in compliance with Public Law 103-305.

3. Conduct an aggressive campaign against weed growth through timely herbicide applications and/or mowing programs for the safety areas. Vegetation growth in pavement cracks is very destructive and significantly increases the rate of pavement deterioration.

4. Implement a periodic crack- and joint-sealing program. Keeping water and debris out of the pavement system by sealing cracks and joints is a proven and cost-effective method of extending the life of the pavement system.

5. Ensure that dirt does not build up along the edges of the pavements. This can create a “bathtub” effect, reducing the ability of water to drain away from the pavement system.

6. Closely monitor heavy equipment movement (particularly snow removal equipment, farming, construction, and fueling equipment) to make sure they are only operating on pavements that are designed to accommodate heavy loads. Failure to restrict heavy equipment to appropriate areas may result in the premature failure of airport pavements.

These recommendations are only a portion of the responsibility each sponsor has in maintaining an airport. Each airport sponsor must provide regular airport maintenance to all its aviation facilities both in the aircraft movement areas and all adjacent areas supporting aviation. It is particularly important to be vigilant in repairing pavements where conditions can pose a hazard to safe operations. For further information on pavement maintenance techniques, refer to the FAA Advisory Circular 150/5380-6C, Guidelines and Procedures for Maintenance of Airport Pavements, presented in the adjacent tab.