As rain pounded down on the Juneau International Airport on Tuesday, Airport Superintendent Scott Rinkenberger drove past trucks and emergency vehicles left out in the weather.<\/p>\n
There just isn\u2019t room to store them, Rinkenberger said, and the brutal conditions take their toll on the equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exposed to the elements, it\u2019s exposed to temperature fluctuations, it\u2019s hard mechanically on them,\u201d Rinkenberger said. \u201cWe spend a lot of money on equipment repairs, and it\u2019s directly related to it being exposed to the elements 365 days a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ninety percent of the airport\u2019s snow removal equipment is left outside all year because the current storage facility simply doesn\u2019t have room. As soon as this fall, though, that might change.<\/p>\n
After around 25 years of planning and designing, the airport is nearly complete with a new storage area, currently known as the Snow Removal Equipment Building (SREB, pronounced \u201cshreb\u201d). The new building will be able to hold almost all of the equipment and is designed to be able to add more room in the future.<\/p>\n
Leaving vehicles out in the rain and snow can result in mold and algae growing on the equipment, and fluctuations in temperature can lead to ice, causing damage. Rinkenberger said many of the vehicles are already past their prime and the weather doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy maintenance staff is constantly battling with trying to keep this equipment up and running,\u201d Rinkenberger said. \u201cWe encounter breakdowns quite a bit, and we directly attribute that to the way it\u2019s stored.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new facility, which is being built on the west side of the airport by Mendenhall River, is estimated to cost around $20 million, much of which is covered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Rinkenberger hopes that this first phase of the project finishes up this fall. The next phase includes adding offices and repair rooms, and the third phase will add storage for sand and chemicals. The next two phases have yet to be funded, and there\u2019s no start date estimated for those yet.<\/p>\n