At Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport (MKE), a confusing intersection of multiple runways was designated by the FAA as a “hotspot” for airfield incursions. We planned and designed the reconfiguration of existing airfield geometry to significantly reduce and/or eliminate future incursions.
In many instances, incursions occurred with planes taxiing past the in-line hold and into the runway safety area, with some taking place while a plane was on final approach. To mitigate the safety hazard, our team met with many stakeholders to understand clearly the conditions contributing to the confusion and the resulting incursions. We used the feedback to develop a number of alternatives and analyze them with the airport, the control tower, the airlines and the adjacent Air National Guard. The chosen alternative reconfigured the runways and taxiways.
