At Pinal Airpark (MZJ), Dibble is leading a multi-year airfield modernization and land use planning program that is transforming one of the country’s most distinctive aviation facilities—a former military base known for heavy-aircraft storage and maintenance—into a broader economic engine for Pinal County.

Airfield improvement design was completed in 2021 with construction ongoing, and Phase 1 of the Land Use Study concept development was delivered in January 2025.

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Challenge

Pinal Airpark operates on a single runway that regularly serves Boeing 747-class aircraft for storage, maintenance, and ferry operations, leaving almost no margin for extended closures.
At the same time, the County needed to modernize aging airfield infrastructure—shoulders, lighting, connector taxiways, and electrical systems—while also planning the highest and best use for nearly 500 acres of land released from aeronautical restrictions.

Funding came from a patchwork of FAA and ADOT Aeronautics grants with shifting priorities, requiring a design and bidding strategy that could flex without losing schedule.​

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Our Approach

Dibble provided design phase services for the airfield improvements and supported Pinal County in developing a capital improvement program that sized individual construction packages to match available funding each year.

For the land use effort, the team led a planning process for 477 acres released for non-aeronautical development, integrating transportation, drainage, and utility studies to position the site for industrial and commercial investment.

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Technical Solutions

• Reconstruction of approximately 53,300 SY of asphalt concrete runway shoulder pavement to restore structural integrity along Runway 12‑30.​
• New runway edge lighting, signage, and Runway End Identifier Lights (REILs), plus rehabilitation of the existing airfield electrical vault to support the updated lighting systems.
• Reconstruction and realignment of four connector taxiways with new shoulder pavement, taxiway edge lighting, signage, infield grading, and drainage improvements.
• Construction of new blast pads and Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPIs) at each end of Runway 12‑30 to meet current FAA design criteria.​
• Development of a Land Use Plan for 477 acres, including conceptual site layouts, access roads, drainage, and utility corridors to attract non-aeronautical industry to the airpark.

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Value Delivered

• Secured an FAA Section 163 determination approving the release of nearly 500 acres for non-aeronautical development—a critical regulatory milestone that unlocks long-term economic potential for the County.
• Managed shifting FAA grant direction by adjusting the first bid package scope multiple times while holding bid schedules, demonstrating funding agility across a complex, multi-source program.
• Developed construction phasing that limits runway shutdowns to a maximum of 20 days using 24-hour operations, maintaining continuity for the heavy commercial aircraft that depend on MZJ.

Project Lifecycle