The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-04
AIRPORT RUNWAYS
MAY BE COMPLETED
BY FEBRUARY 28
CONTINUED From Page One)

the Wilmington and Raleigh offices
Of the WPA has enabled us to
speed up u production work to
capacity within the past few days."
Prevette said.
1--WE are going to order the nee
essary material as far as we can
handle it from time to time as the
project progresses" he said, land
we are depending on the county
for equipment to keep things 60
ing"
The WPA has ordered enough
stone for one complete runway and
1--WE hope to crack enough rock at
the county quarry to complete an
other runway" the district super
visor said.
Four new trucks, recently bought
by the county, have been put into
immediate use and a hauling
rock to the airport as fast as they
can be loaded at the quarry, he
said.
230 Men Assigned
About 23O workmen have been
assigned to date to the project,
Prevette said, in a move to push
all operations rapidly to compile
ton.
WPA forces are making very
good Roadway on the first runway,
5000 feet long and 100 feet wide,
running in a direction from moth
east to southwest, he said.
The inspection yesterday after
noon disclosed that workmen had
laid a rock base on more than
1000 feet of this first runway, and
Prevette estimated that about 800
feet remained to be laid, before
work of applying asphalt would be-
gin.
The WPA has sufficient rock on
hand or ordered to take care OF
the rock base work on the second
runway, 5000 feet long and 100
feet wide, and extending in an
east-west direction. The third run.
way is $3.50 feet long and 100 feet
wide, he said, and runs in a north.
south direction.
Preparations for each runway
will include the laying of a heavy
and then a light rock base, togeth.
er with about a two and a hall
inch asphalt top. The WPA dis
trict supervisor said tn e entire
field was underlaid with tile for
use as a drainage system when the
project is completed.
To Order Material
Prevette pointed out that numer
GUS project details would have tt
be worked out in detail as the
work progresses and said addi
tional equipment would be ordered
by WPA and the county from time
to time as needed.
The county's rock quarry on tn,
Castle Hayne road at mid-after
noon yesterday vas a beehive O
activity as WPA forces rushed the
work of digging, loading, and haul
ing rock to B~luethenthal Field.
A caterpillar t a C t With ;
scraper, leyeling off three yard,
of top dirt at a time and depositin,
at the side of the quarry, wa,
gradually taking off the over-bur
den of from three to five feet il
depth and getting down to tn
actual rock base.
Chairman Hewlett called atten
ton of the inspection party to al
air compressor machine connecte.
with a paving breaker and stee
drills which was proving very use
full in the speeding of the pre-
liminary operations at the quarry
WPA workmen are using dyna
mite twice daily to break up tn,
heavy rock lodges into smalle:
pieces. The largest pieces of rocl
left are broken up by a stee
hammer and chisel. Paving break
ers are used to drill holes in tn,
top of the thick layers of rock ant
such devices, Chairman Hewlett
pointed out, break up as mucl
rock as II to Is men using thei
hammers.
Special WPA work trucks or lug
gers have been placed into us,
for picking up loads of rock an,
dumping them near the rock crush
er for hauling to the airport. Tn
luggers, it vas pointed out, ar
picking up a yard and a half O
rock per load.
For each 100 pounds of food
consumes, a hog returns IS pound