AAFES gas station to get new canopy Published Feb. 9, 2011 By Kenji Thuloweit 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Installation of a new fabric canopy for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas station is scheduled to begin Feb.16. The new sunshade replaces the damaged hard canopy and will be installed in a phased process to ensure some gas pumps will remain open until construction wraps up in early March. "Right now, the canopy is 11 feet 6 inches and a lot of RVs (recreational vehicles) with air conditioning units on top are too tall for the current canopy. It's a safety issue," said Joseph Hunt, 95th Civil Engineering Division project manager. "This new canopy is going to be higher at 16 feet." Work will begin at 9 p.m. Feb. 16. If 95th CE does not encounter unforeseen site conditions the plan is to have the project completed no later than March 11. The construction schedule will be phased to leave one gas pump island available at all times. The island will be available seven days a week from the beginning to the end of construction, with the exception of a few hours when all pumps will be shut down for the contractor to install the canopy fabric over the structure. Mr. Hunt says an entirely new structure will be installed, which will include new posts, fabric and lighting. There will be three to four interruptions of diesel fuel service up to 24 hours at a time during the construction period. Temporary lighting will be provided for night usage of the gas station. Work will be divided into four phases. The first phase is the demolition phase, which will be Feb. 16 to 18. The demolition work will be done at night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. During the next phases, work will be done from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. No work will occur on the weekends. The foundation phase is Feb. 22 to 25. The canopy erection phase will be Feb. 28 to Mar. 4. The canopy electrical phase will run March 7 through March 11. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Hunt at 277-3791.