Oct. 22—It's been open for traffic since January, but the fully resurfaced main runway at Cullman Regional Airport had to wait for some landscaping and other ancillary finishing touches before being something to officially celebrate.
That's the way manager Ben Harrison sees it, having shepherded the $4 million project alongside board members to completion after years of preparation, lots of site management, and miles of administrative red tape. "We had some additional things with that project that we wanted to finish out beyond the paving itself," Harrison recently explained to The Times, adding that the project needed some final aesthetic and functional work before at last looking as good as the smooth tarmac surface feels.
With the surrounding sod now laid and nine full months of daily operation under its belt, the time to show off the runway came this week, as airport board members, management, and area elected leaders finally cut the ribbon on the completed runway project.
The full-depth reclamation required shutting down the runway and completely digging up the previous tarmac before rebuilding the 5,500 foot-long, 100 foot-wide landing strip, and marked a major planning milestone for the general aviation facility — one that allows airport planners to turn the page toward the next chapter of coming improvements.
Those improvements could eventually include a 1,000-foot extension to the runway, which was first laid — with only incremental surface improvements since — when the jointly-administered city-county facility first opened in 1958.
Harrison noted that a handful of the original airport board members instrumental in getting the airport off the ground more than 60 years ago were on hand for the Oct. 20 ribbon cutting, having witnessed through the decades the airport's growing role in supporting Cullman County's globally-integrated economy.
Whether in the sky or on the ground, seeing through the distance is vital to smooth landings — and smooth planning. With the runway finished, the airport is tapping the brakes on capital investment this year as it collaborates with engineering partner Goodwyn Mills & Cawood to update the facility's Airport Layout Plan (ALP), a master document that takes stock of all the areas open to future improvement at the site, while aligning with current Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) guidelines.
"We do not want to follow the standards, we want to set the standards," Harrison told The Times Friday.
The ALP is more than just a plan, though: It's also a crucial piece of strategic information as leadership eyes opportunities to secure future grant funding. Of the runway project's $4.2 million total cost, $3.6 million came in the form of an FAA grant, while portions of the remaining $600,000 were supplied by the Alabama Department of Transportation, the City of Cullman, and Cullman County. "The idea," Harrison said recently, "is to always keep everyone informed well in advance, and always to have five years' worth of plans out there."
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