Groundbreaking kicks off long-awaited hangar project Published Dec. 14, 2009 By Kendahl Johnson 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Although some backhoes had already beaten them to it, Robins leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for a hangar that is the last project in a 5-year, $150 million construction plan. With crews already at work in the background removing dirt from the site, a group of officials tossed some dirt with shovels to celebrate the start of the long-awaited project. The request for the building was submitted in 2005, said Col. John Bukowinski, commander of the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Group. The 86,000 square-foot building will house either four C-130s or one C-130 and one C-17. It is primarily intended for C-130s but will be built tall enough to accommodate C-17s if needed. "This facility has been a long time coming for us," Bukowinski said. "It's like Christmas has come early." It will be a while before the building can be put to use. Completion is scheduled for June, 2011. Bukowinski said the building is needed to help meet a growing workload for C-130s. "It can't come any too soon," he said. "We could use it right now." The original request was for a much larger building of 300,000 square feet with the capacity to house eight C-130s or four C-17s. But the project was cut back to reduce the cost from $45 million to $22.5 million. Before work on laying the foundation can begin, a massive dirt hauling operation must be completed. Located near Fire Station 2 just off Perimeter Road, the site is at an elevation about eight feet above the taxiway, which would be far too steep for towing C-130s. Therefore, an estimated 12,000 dump-truck loads of dirt must be removed, said Bill Deaver, chief of industrial design in the 78th Civil Engineer Group. About 4,000 loads have already been removed, he said. Trucks were steadily coming in out during the ceremony Friday. About a third of it is being taken to a construction site at the Museum of Aviation, and the rest is being taken to a site purchased by the contractor specifically for that purpose. Deaver said foundation work should start in a couple of months. The contractor is Benham Constructors.