Sep. 27—Lancaster Airport will use a $5.6 million federal grant to finish repaving and repairing its 1935-era main runway, which will require closing the entire airport to air traffic for one week next summer.
Earlier this month the Federal Aviation Administration awarded funding to the airport so it can complete the project, which started in 2021. The total budget for the project has reached $19.5 million, funded almost entirely from federal sources.
The final phase of the project involves the intersection of the airport's two runways, and will require closing both runways for about a week. It will require a complete halt to air traffic at the airport, which is third busiest in the state based on the number of planes that take off and land there.
------
READ NEXT: Lancaster Airport gets $2.6 million for new corporate hangars
------
"If you're upsetting the pavement of a four-way intersection, you have to stop all traffic," said Ed Foster, the airport's executive director.
Repairs have focused on a 4,000-foot long section in the middle of the runway, constructed in 1935, which intentionally sloped to one side.
The project, which is about 80% complete, involved adding a crown in the middle of that section, like the rest of the runway. The slope caused rain to flow across the runway, instead of having it run off to either side. That created safety issues, according to Foster.
Earlier phases of the project had longer closures because traffic could be routed to the airport's other runway.
The project was originally proposed in 2017, with an estimated budget of $12 million. It has taken four years because of the cost of the project, and the availability of federal funding, according to Cheryl Martin, the airport's director of finance & administration. The FAA has provided all but $1 million of the budget. In past years, the airport received about $4 million per year.
"This will get (the runway) in compliance with all FAA standards," Foster said.
___
(c)2023 LNP (Lancaster, Pa.)
Visit LNP (Lancaster, Pa.) at lancasteronline.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
