Lea County Regional Airport: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 32°41′15″N 103°13′01″W / 32.68750°N 103.21694°W / 32.68750; -103.21694
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Construction contracts were issued to three experienced firms. "The firm of Parks, Marshall & McClosky was awarded a contract to build 423 buildiings (later modified to include 456 structures) by the end of December, 1942. Hayner & Bruner had a contract to install the utilities on the base, and three Albuquerque firms partnered to form Allison, Armstrong & Thygesen, who then contracted to build the landing fields, roads, and drainage system." <ref>Dodge and Sawyer, page 7.</ref>
Construction contracts were issued to three experienced firms. "The firm of Parks, Marshall & McClosky was awarded a contract to build 423 buildiings (later modified to include 456 structures) by the end of December, 1942. Hayner & Bruner had a contract to install the utilities on the base, and three Albuquerque firms partnered to form Allison, Armstrong & Thygesen, who then contracted to build the landing fields, roads, and drainage system." <ref>Dodge and Sawyer, page 7.</ref>

Grading of the runways began on 1 June 1942 with 100 workers initially, later to expand to 3,000, to meet a mid-September deadline on the $10.8 million project. Road construction was simultaneously undertaken including the rebuilding of the Hobbs-Lovington Highway to military requirements, and the access road to the base now known as Jack Gomez Boulevard. <ref>Dodge and Sawyer, page 8</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 01:48, 18 February 2009

Lea County Regional Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorLea County
LocationHobbs, New Mexico
Elevation AMSL3,661 ft / 1,115.9 m
Coordinates32°41′15″N 103°13′01″W / 32.68750°N 103.21694°W / 32.68750; -103.21694
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 7,398 2,255 Asphalt
8/26 3,512 1,070 Asphalt
12/30 6,002 1,829 Asphalt
17/35 4,998 1,523 Asphalt

Lea County Regional Airport (IATA: HOB, ICAO: KHOB), also known as Lea County-Hobbs Airport, is a public airport located four miles (6.4 km) west of the central business district (CBD) of Hobbs, a city in Lea County, New Mexico, USA. The airport covers 898 acres (363 ha) and has four runways. It is mostly used for general aviation, but is also served by one commercial airline. Service is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.

Airline and destination

History

During World War II the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Force Army Air Forces Training Command as part of the Western Flight Training Center.

On 18 December 1941, eleven days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Maj. John Armstrong, commander of Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico, visited Hobbs to conduct a preliminary investigation of potential military sites and discuss the prospects with local political and business leaders. Other military representatives soon followed, including those of the Army Corps of Engineers who would be involved in construction. The Army Air Force decided to use the Hobbs location in February 1942 and began the planning of the base and shipment of materials, but a public announcement was not made until 7 April. In a lease agreement with the city of Hobbs, signed on 4 February 1942, the city was responsible for acquiring "either through voluntary purchase or condemnation" the 2,480 acres required for the airfield as well as 12 to 15 acres for a radio communications installation, 640 acres adjacent to the airfield for an ordnance installation, land for a sewage disposal system, and land for a rail spur. The city would lease these lands to the government for $1.00 a year with a 25-year renewal option. [1]

In April 1942, the city of Hobbs passed a $26,000 bond issue for land acquisition along the west side of the Hobbs-Lovington Highway, comprising the ranches of the Caudill and Huston families. The Huston family had spent 40 years building up their property and were not happy about being dispossessed. The city was adamant and the case was eventually settled in district court. The property had to be cleared by June 1942. [2]

The Army Corps of Engineers, Albuquerque District, opened a sub-district office in Hobbs on 16 March 1942. On 1 April, Wilson and Company of Salina, Kansas, was awarded a $65,000 architect-engineer contract to design and build the new installation. [3]

Construction contracts were issued to three experienced firms. "The firm of Parks, Marshall & McClosky was awarded a contract to build 423 buildiings (later modified to include 456 structures) by the end of December, 1942. Hayner & Bruner had a contract to install the utilities on the base, and three Albuquerque firms partnered to form Allison, Armstrong & Thygesen, who then contracted to build the landing fields, roads, and drainage system." [4]

Grading of the runways began on 1 June 1942 with 100 workers initially, later to expand to 3,000, to meet a mid-September deadline on the $10.8 million project. Road construction was simultaneously undertaken including the rebuilding of the Hobbs-Lovington Highway to military requirements, and the access road to the base now known as Jack Gomez Boulevard. [5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dodge, William A., and Sawyer, Timothy L., "Keep "Em Flying: The Story of the Hobbs Army Air Field", Van Citters: Historic Preservation, LLC, Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 2008, pages 4-5.
  2. ^ Dodge and Sawyer, page 5
  3. ^ Dodge and Sawyer, page 7
  4. ^ Dodge and Sawyer, page 7.
  5. ^ Dodge and Sawyer, page 8

External links


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