Airport and Business Park Concrete near Casper, Wyoming

A 157-foot control tower replacing a 50-foot one is the kind of job that shows what airport concrete demands. The airport announced a tower of just under $30 million to replace the one built in 1954, with completion expected in early 2028. Nothing about a project like that is casual: a tall structure on a small footprint needs a foundation designed for overturning and wind, a base built to tight tolerances and a pour sequence that does not leave a cold joint in a critical element. We bring that discipline to the airside and landside work around the field, from aprons and hangar floors to utility lines and fiber conduit.

Casper-Natrona County International Airport covers 5,150 acres at 5,344 feet, with a 10,165-foot runway and an 8,679-foot crosswind runway, each 150 feet wide. In 2022 it logged 43,126 operations, 71 percent of them general aviation, which tells you how much of the demand is hangars, small-aircraft aprons and tie-downs. The business park next door and the foreign trade zone designation add warehouse, shop and logistics buildings to the mix. Whatever the scope, the schedule bends around flight operations, and we plan with that in mind from the first meeting.

A business park, a trade zone and a state fire base

The NCIA Business Park next to the airport houses more than 35 businesses, from manufacturing to aviation, along with a World War II museum. Foreign Trade Zone 157 is operated by the airport, with a 492-acre Magnet Site at 8500 Airport Parkway and a boundary covering nearly all of Natrona County. That mix creates steady demand for slabs, truck courts and tenant buildings, much of which looks like logistics and warehouse development with an aviation twist.

The Wyoming State Forestry Division Helibase on airport grounds serves as the state's centralized wildland fire operations center, with fueling, parking, maintenance and crew housing, beside a federal air tanker base. Facilities like that run on pads: fueling aprons, retardant handling areas and heavy parking that has to drain cleanly and tolerate spills. Our work on containment pads applies directly.

Aprons, hangar floors and heavy pavement

Aircraft pavement is rigid and unforgiving. The airport's scheduled cargo service uses Boeing 757-200 and Airbus A300 and A310 aircraft, and ramp pavement for loads like that needs thickness, dowelled joints and subgrade support designed by an engineer who knows the gear loads. We build concrete paving with the joint layout the drawings call for, saw cuts timed to avoid random cracking, and curing that keeps the surface sound through the first winter.

Hangar floors are a separate discipline. The slab has to carry jacks, tugs and parked aircraft, drain to door trenches and stay flat enough for doors to seal. Our guide to the aircraft hangar slab covers thickened edges, embedded tie-downs and trench drains. Fueling areas get containment, slope and sealed joints, and we coordinate with the airport on any pad that will hold fuel.

Working inside an operating airfield

An airfield has rules a normal site does not. Vehicles stay inside marked haul routes and escort rules, loose material is kept off the pavement so it cannot become debris, and every gate and fence opening is controlled. Cranes, concrete pump booms and tall equipment near approach paths need coordination with airport operations, and some work is allowed only when specific runways or taxiways are closed. We ask for the airport's contractor requirements at bid and build the closure windows into the schedule.

Concrete trucks, rebar deliveries and street sweepers all need a plan that keeps the pavement clean and the tower informed. The construction trade partners are briefed at the start of every shift on where they may be, what radio calls to expect and whom to call. Open trenches and excavations near taxiways get barricades and lighting that a pilot can see, and trench spoil is stockpiled well away from active pavement.

Fiber conduit and utility trenching

The Wyoming Business Council approved $617,483 in grant funding for Natrona County to install about 30,000 linear feet of fiber optic cable in and around the airport business park. That is a lot of trench, and the paving, fences and utilities already in place determine how it gets built. We cut conduit and fiber trenches, bore under pavement where cutting is not allowed, backfill in compacted lifts and restore the surface to a condition the airport will accept.

Water, sewer and electrical service runs follow the same logic. The construction trade partners pothole existing lines, hold clearances, and install duct banks encased where the drawings call for it. Detailed as-built records go to the owner so the next tenant finds the lines where we said they would be.

Public owner, private tenants

The airport itself is a public owner, which puts it in the same procurement world as other municipal and public works buyers: competitive bidding, prevailing requirements, documented testing and careful closeout. Tenants in the business park are private, and their needs vary from a small maintenance shop to a larger production or storage building. We can serve either one, but the paperwork and approvals differ, so we ask who the owner is and who approves changes before we price.

Much of the work is a short drive from the metro's other logistics ground. Our page on the Casper Logistics Hub describes truck courts and rail-served yards that complement the airport park, and the two are often considered together by users weighing sites.

Flights, weather and the pour calendar

Scheduled passenger service and daily cargo flights set the rhythm of the apron, so we plan pours around those windows and around closure approvals. At 5,344 feet, the cold arrives early and stays late, and winter placement means cold-weather protection and long curing, which affect how soon a closed taxiway lane can reopen. If the airport needs a pavement panel back in service by a date, we select a mix and curing plan that can meet it and prove it with cylinders.

Where it makes sense, we bundle work so one closure covers several scopes. Saw cutting, demolition, base repair and new pavement can all happen under the same permit, instead of tying up the same area three times. Neighboring Bar Nunn, which took shape around the old airfield, shares many of the same ground conditions and haul routes.

Talk through your airport project

Send the drawings, the airport's contractor requirements and the closure windows you can get. We will return a sequence, a testing plan and a price. Reach out about your airport or business park project.

Questions Owners Ask

Can you build to airport pavement specifications?

Yes, if the drawings and specifications come from the airport's engineer. We build the joint layout, dowels and thickness as designed, saw on schedule, test the concrete and keep the surface clean. Airfield pavement is unforgiving, so the plan stays close to the drawings.

How do you handle closures and escorts on the airfield?

We ask for the airport's contractor requirements at bid time and put closure windows into the schedule. Crews follow marked routes, escorts are used where required, and gates stay controlled. Equipment near approach paths gets coordinated with airport operations before it is set.

Do you install fiber and duct banks in the business park?

Yes. We trench or bore conduit, install encased duct banks where required, backfill in compacted lifts and restore pavement. As-built locations are delivered to the owner so tenants and other contractors can find the lines later.

What kind of slab does an aircraft hangar need?

A thick, flat, well-reinforced slab with door trenches and drains, thickened edges and embedded tie-downs. Floor slopes must work with the building's doors, and fuel or oil spill containment depends on how the hangar will be used. The structural engineer sets final details.

Are winter pours realistic at the airport?

Yes, with preparation. At 5,344 feet we plan cold-weather protection, warm mix and curing blankets, and we log temperature until strength is reached. The cost is real, and it is much easier to carry in the schedule than to discover in the field.

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