Selfridge Air National Guard Base Airfield Reconstruction — Harrison Township, Michigan

Michigan has awarded The Christman Co. a $140.9 million construction management contract for major airfield work at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, northeast of Detroit in Harrison Township. The State Administrative Board approved the award on 1 September 2026. It is the first large package inside an estimated $985 million of construction planned at the base through 2031.

Project Scope

The airfield package covers roughly 1,100 linear feet of hardened overrun and a 200-foot blast pad, sized to accommodate a northward shift of the runway thresholds. Work also includes reconstruction of runway shoulders, replacement of threshold and end lighting and signage, realignment of approach lighting, navaids and glide slope equipment, and relocation of the north perimeter road and fencing.

Taxiways A and B extend north to the new overrun in portland cement concrete with asphalt shoulders, edge lighting and signage.

Shifting runway thresholds is the item that pulls the rest of the scope along. Move the threshold and the approach lighting, glide slope siting and navaid geometry all have to move with it, which is why a package that reads as pavement work carries so much electrical and survey content.

Why It Matters

Michigan committed a construction manager before Congress finished funding the wider program, an unusual sequence for military construction and a sign of how much the state wants the base recapitalized on schedule. Hiring a CM early buys preconstruction time, lets long-lead airfield lighting and navaid equipment get on order, and gives the state a cost baseline to take back to appropriators.

Airfield geometry work of this kind also has to finish before follow-on packages can proceed. The $140.9 million award effectively sets the pace for the remaining roughly $845 million of planned work through 2031, and any slip in the overrun and taxiway extensions pushes everything behind it. For contractors in Michigan, this is the front end of a decade-long program at a single site rather than a one-off airfield job.

Project Team & Details