A Look Back: New Hampshire's Portsmouth Air Force Base

The Portsmouth Air Force Base in Portsmouth, N.H., was built between the years of 1954 to 1956. The Cold War project was described militarily as a retaliation base. The joint venture team of Morrison-Knudsen Company of Boise, Idaho, and Landers & Griffin Inc. of Portsmouth, N.H., held several contracts for grading and paving which totaled approximately 20 million dollars. Morrison-Knudsen, a mega sized international firm, was the sponsor of the project. Five million cu. yds. of common excavation were completed. The runways and parking aprons required 423,000 cu. yds. of concrete, enough for a good sized dam. The immense parking aprons alone totaled 10 million sq. ft. of 14 in. thick concrete pavement.—CEG