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U.S. Army Engineers in the Gulf War
Another tasking was to add dust abatement (a 2-inch surface course of
asphalt) to an existing stabilized marl base (more than a million square meters)
also at King Fahd International Airport that U.S. forces were using as a
temporary parking apron. Many helicopters were housed there before
deployment to other locations. MEAPO awarded the indefinite delivery order
construction contract on 14 November, and within days the contractor had
begun grading and paving operations. By early December two contractors were
laying 6,000 to 7,000 tons of asphalt per day using five spreaders. Although the
cost of the contract was roughly million, the amount was not excessive
considering a single air brigade had already spent million to repair blades
and engines damaged by the dust.35
In early November MEAPO(SWA) awarded delivery order #2 on the
contract with Tamimi Company to apply dust palliative to 26,500 square
meters of trafficked area and approximately 290,000 square meters of graded,
uncompacted, fine sand. The areas to be stabilized surrounded 80 helipads at
Thadj and 20 helipads at Jelady plus two 100-foot-square hot refueling
pads-where helicopters refuel without turning off their engines. The
contractor was also to provide dust palliative to roughly 20,000 square meters
of road leading to the pads.
At Thadj, Tamimi applied a 60 percent water/40 percent asphalt CSS-1
solution at a rate of 7 liters per square meter. Work at Thadj progressed slowly
due to limited equipment and water. Two independent laboratories in Saudi
Arabia tested the asphalt at Thadj and found the quality to be acceptable. The
treated area could take limited foot traffic but not vehicle traffic. The Jelady
Emulsified asphalt was used as a dust palliative at Thadj.
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