The project comes at a time when the Department of Defense is facing budget cuts.
CHICOPEE – Westover Air Reserve Base will replace its aging fueling system with a modern one in a $24.5 million project that will begin soon.
The project will replace the system, which has 12 underground storage tanks, with one that has two above-ground storage tanks. While the capacity is smaller – 420,000 verses 584,000 gallons – the new system will be faster and environmentally safer, said Lt. Col. James G. Bishop, chief of public affairs for Westover’s 439th Airlift Wing.
The system will pump 2,400 gallons of fuel a minute and fill a plane in a half-hour. It will allow four C-5B Galaxy jets to be fueled simultaneously, which is important in an emergency, he said.
“It will be newer and more efficient and faster,” he said. “It is more environmentally friendly because there won’t be the possibility of leaks.”
The existing system was commissioned in 1990 but has parts dating to the original system constructed in 1952 and used when B-25’s were based at Westover. It has been patched to prevent leaks, Bishop said.
The project comes at a time when the base is facing budget cuts from sequestration, and nearly all employees are being placed on unpaid furloughs one day a week for 11 weeks. Department of Defense cuts are also calling for eight of the 16 Westover planes to be sent to Texas in 2016.
“This is a very significant investment into the infrastructure and long-term viability of the base. The $24 million upgrade will help Westover perform its mission more effectively. As one of the largest employers in the region, this contract will bring construction jobs and economic growth,” said U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who represents the base.
The funding is coming from the federal Defense Logistics Agency, which is a support agency for the Department of Defense. The Army Corps of Engineers will oversee the construction.
The project was proposed several years ago but re-evaluated last summer when officials learned the cost was higher than planned, said William C. Taylor II, project manager for the New England District of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The evaluation happened as sequestration hit, and it took about five months. Congress also had to approve the extra money, and the House allowed in February and the Senate voted for the project in March. It then had to go through a separate sequestration approval in April, Taylor said.
“It speaks very well for the base and the need for the mission to be accomplished at the base,” Taylor said of the approvals.
The work will be done by Structural Associates Inc., of East Syracuse, N.Y. Special consideration will be taken to handle any soil that may have been contaminated by leaks in the system or spills, he said.