Overview of Airport Engineering & Design

Central Region

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Sponsor Responsibility

The Sponsor is responsible for accomplishing project engineering and design for all development projects funded under the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The only exception to this policy is the engineering design for FAA owned facilities that require relocation or modification due to an AIP funded project. The Engineering Services division of the FAA Air Traffic Organization has the option to accomplish such engineering services in-house or they may elect to have the Sponsor's engineer perform the necessary services.

The sponsor mustl use qualified technical resources to complete project design and to prepare a bid package that complies with Federal, State and local regulations. The project design must incorporate sound engineering principals as well as comply with applicable AIP design standards.

FAA Standards

By accepting an AIP grant, the sponsor agrees to adhere to FAA standards that are presented in various applicable Advisory Circulars (ACs). A listing of the applicable Advisory Circulars is attached to each grant agreement. Unless specifically approved in writing by the FAA , the Sponsor must apply all applicable FAA standards to the project design without modification. Unless expressly approved by the FAA, non-standard design elements are ineligible for AIP participation.

Since the AIP statute bases eligiblity upon adherence to FAA approved standards, Sponsors desiring to use construction standards for which no AIP standards exist must also seek FAA approval for use in order to become eligible for AIP participation.

FAA Review

We strongly encourage sponsors, along with their engineer, consult with the FAA project manager prior to commencement of any project design. This coordination will assist the Sponsor with establishing the limits of AIP eligibility and thus hopefully avoid incurring costs associated with misdirected work the FAA subsequenty disallows.

The primary purpose of the FAA's review is to verify conformance with applicable FAA design and safety standards as well as to make a determination regarding the limits of AIP eligibility. The FAA project manager generally limits their review to eligibility determinations and a review of critical project elements such as the safety plan, pavement details, airfield marking details and airfield signage details.The FAA will not typically review detailed engineering and quantity calculations, however such documentation shall be made available if so requested by the FAA project manager.The sponsor shall plan for sufficient time that allows the FAA project manager to conduct an appropriate review. This will vary per size and type of project.. Generally, we request a review time of 2-3 weeks. Seasonality will also impact the amount of time the FAA may need to conduct the reviews. In order to limit delays, we request Sponsor with moderate to larger scale projects submit there plans and specification at least 6 months ahead of the scheduled bidding.

The FAA project manager will base any approval action on a combination of a FAA cursory review and the submittal of a satisfactory executed sponsor certification. Sponsors must not construe the FAA review as a quality control review step. Any review and approval by the FAA does not relieve the Sponsor or the engineer of the responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, and technical content of the plans and specifications.