DFW Airport Reopens Runway Ahead of Schedule to Support Record Summer Travel Season

Just in time for the busy summer travel season, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) reopened runway 17R/35L following a nine-month closure for scheduled rehabilitation. The runway, one of seven at DFW, returned to service on May 24 in a shortened configuration of 9,275 feet to enable use of the surface during the busy summer travel season.

“The innovative approach to phased construction and a partial reopening allows crews to simultaneously finish the remaining work while safely bringing back into service what is normally one of the busiest departure runways for aircraft to use during the peak travel season,” said Mohamed Charkas, Executive Vice President of Infrastructure and Development at DFW. “This project is another example of how DFW is leveraging innovative construction techniques to reduce costs and operational impacts while delivering exceptional infrastructure for our partners and the traveling public.”

The full runway is expected to open later this year. The rehabilitation project includes a complete reconstruction of the runway with a high-density asphalt overlay, as well as new and improved drainage, electrical infrastructure and lighting, signage, and deicing infrastructure. A new lighting vault to deliver power to the east airfield also opened in coordination with the return of the runway. The previous 50-year-old lighting vault was located near Terminal A and was also in need of a complete rehabilitation, resulting in a strategic decision to rebuild the facility in a new location to enable the planned terminal expansion.

Earlier this year, DFW was awarded a $45 million Airport Infrastructure Grant under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration to assist in funding the runway project.

This is the third runway to undergo a complete rehabilitation at DFW in the last seven years and is part of the airport’s ongoing Capital Improvement Program that is set to invest more than $9 billion into expansions and facility improvements over the next five years, including the complete rebuild of Terminal C and construction of a new Terminal F.

Runway 17R/35L Rehabilitation Project, By the Numbers:

·        2,680,000 square feet of new runway surface, which is equivalent to 570 NBA basketball courts.

·        2,725 runway lights replaced with energy-efficient LED lights.

·        200 feet wide, the widest of DFW’s seven runways.