The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District joined Department of the Air Force leaders and project partners May 18 for a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of the F-35/T-7A East Campus Infrastructure project at Hill Air Force Base.
The project is the first of eight planned military construction efforts supporting development of a future aircraft sustainment campus at Hill AFB. Collectively representing more than $1.2 billion in programmed investment, the broader campus modernization effort will support long-term F-35 Lightning II and T-7A Red Hawk depot maintenance and sustainment operations.
USACE Sacramento District is delivering the project in partnership with the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Hill AFB’s 75th Civil Engineer Group and the Ogden Air Logistics Complex.
“This project represents much more than the start of construction,” said Col. Robert McTighe, commander of the USACE Sacramento District. “It is the beginning of a long-term partnership to deliver a state of the art depot level maintenance facility supporting both the F-35 and T-7A platforms.”
The infrastructure project provides utilities, communications systems, fuel support infrastructure, airfield connectivity and site improvements required to support future construction and operation of the East Campus facilities.
Before aircraft maintenance hangars and operational facilities can come online, foundational infrastructure must first be established to support long-term mission requirements across the installation.
The project also reflects Sacramento District’s use of innovative acquisition and delivery approaches to execute complex military infrastructure programs involving multiple stakeholders, phased funding and evolving mission requirements.
The district implemented a Single Award Task Order Contract acquisition strategy to provide greater flexibility while maintaining cost and schedule stability across the life of the program.
“This effort demonstrates how the Sacramento District continues maximizing our ability to deliver national infrastructure while tackling some of the nation’s most complex engineering and infrastructure challenges,” McTighe said. “At USACE, we remain focused on safely and efficiently delivering quality projects on time and within budget.”
Under the contract framework, the project team can coordinate construction activities through discrete task orders while partnering with existing installation utility providers and specialized subcontractors already supporting operations at Hill AFB.
Project leaders said the approach allows critical work to move forward efficiently while reducing risk, improving coordination and avoiding unnecessary cost and schedule delays.
Projects that will be constructed after infrastructure completion will incorporate newer authorities provided by Congress, including progressive design-build and design-to-budget delivery methods intended to modernize federal infrastructure delivery.
“These approaches allow for earlier contractor involvement, greater pricing certainty and the ability to move construction activities forward more efficiently than traditional delivery models,” McTighe said.
By 2030, the East Campus is expected to support multiple facilities dedicated to F-35 and T-7A sustainment operations, helping ensure long-term fleet readiness and continued air superiority capability for the Department of the Air Force.