The main runway at Bend Municipal Airport will be repaved over the course of ten days starting Wednesday. It’s the first of two closures at the airport that will force planes to take off and land at other locations.
The first part of the $1.8 million project will run from Wednesday through Sept. 16. Work will include crack repair, surface seal treatment, first application of surface markings, demolition of signs and construction of concrete sign bases.
The second closure happens 30 days later, lasting about three days. That one will be for final application of marking, installation of signs on bases, and electrical connection of the replacement signs. Thirty-two signs on the runway are being upgraded to LED, reducing the airport’s runway light bill.
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“What this project will do for us is to extend the useful life of the paved surfaces for at least another five years, maybe more. So it’s largely preventative maintenance,” airport manager Tracy Williams recently told Central Oregon Daily News.
The project is funded mostly by the Federal Aviation Administration and the State of Oregon.
Bend Municipal is the third busiest in Oregon for takeoffs and landings, the airport says. That means a lot of planes and pilots have to be accommodated for 10 days to other regional airports.
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