The Michigan State Administrative Board on Sept. 1 approved a recommendation to award Lansing, Mich.-based The Christman Co. a $140.9 million construction management contract for major airfield work at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, advancing a nearly $1 billion overhaul of the facility northeast of Detroit for new fighter and tanker aircraft.
The runway and runway work is part of an estimated $985 million in construction planned through 2031 as the Harrison Township base prepares to replace its A-10 Thunderbolt II fighters with F-15EX Eagle II aircraft and its KC-135 Stratotankers with KC-46 Pegasus tankers. The first F-15EX units are expected in 2028, followed by KC-46 units in 2030.
“This is not just new buildings,” Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Kramer II, assistant adjutant general and commander of the Michigan Air National Guard, said in a statement from the 127th Wing. “We are also changing the track and installing new electrical and sewer lines. This is a large-scale modernization of Selfridge’s infrastructure.”
Christman’s proposed contract includes modifications to the runway, taxiways and supporting infrastructure. Michigan’s request for proposals calls for about 1,100 linear feet of hardened overpass and a 200-foot blast pad to accommodate a northward shift of the runway thresholds. Crews will also rebuild runway pavements, replace threshold and finish lighting and signage, readjust approach lighting, navigation aids and glideslope equipment and relocate the north perimeter road and fence.
The A and B taxiways will be extended north to the new deck with Portland cement concrete pavement, asphalt curbs, curb lighting, signage and markings. The Christmas one The $140.94 million not-to-exceed contract includes preconstruction, construction, contingency, general conditions, bonds, insurance and the construction manager’s fee.
The RFP calls for construction documents to be completed by September, construction to begin in March 2027 and Phase 1 to be completed in December 2029. Michigan lawmakers approved $152 million in state general funds in May for runway and taxiway improvements.
Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, Michigan’s adjutant general and director of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said the appropriation would allow the state to hire a construction manager “so that work can begin without delay.”
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Mead & Hunt is the airfield designer and has an $11.15 million professional services contract that includes construction administration and verification of contractor compliance with drawings, specifications and unified facility criteria.
Tetra Tech has a $5.79 million contract for environmental work needed to advance the runway project, including completion of the joint permit application and acquisition of Phase 2 wetland mitigation credits.
New reconstruction of the aircraft driving base
Federal plans extend the work beyond the airfield. The House version of the 2027 federal defense authorization legislation provides $110 million for runway encroachment mitigation, $28 million for the extension of Taxiway Alpha and $24 million for Taxiway Bravo at Selfridge, additional phases of the F-15EX maintenance complex and KC-46 squadron operations, crew training and support projects.
An F-15EX Eagle II, the fighter slated to replace Selfridge Air National Guard Base’s A-10 fleet, is among the new aircraft driving the base’s infrastructure overhaul.
Photo courtesy of the US Air Force
Congress previously provided $10 million each in fiscal year 2026 for F-15EX bed and runway invasion design work.
Some fighter-related builds predate the F-15EX base decision. Walsh Federal LLC won a $27.94 million firm-fixed-price contract through 2023 for a new hangar in Selfridge after seven bids were submitted. The 127th Wing later described it as a 41,900 square meter fighter maintenance hangar.
Other enabling work has moved beyond the base fence. Michigan and Macomb County began Aug. 17 on the relocation and reconstruction of the William P. Rosso Expressway between Interstate 94 and Jefferson Avenue. The project includes the relocation of the Irwin Drain, the installation of concrete culverts and the construction of a roundabout on Town Center Boulevard.
Based in Shelby Township, Michigan Dan’s Excavating won the bid for the $27.8 million highway and drainage package. The movement of road and drainage infrastructure creates space for airfield improvements while increasing the separation between future flight operations and nearby residential areas.
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Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said the county’s highway department helped move the work forward and called the runway extension “another investment in the future of Selfridge and our entire region.”
All work must be sequenced while Selfridge remains a functioning military installation. The transition is a “complex and carefully sequenced effort,” said Brig. Gen. Leah Voelker, commander of the 127th Wing. “Every piece — construction, equipment, training and talent — has to come together precisely.”
