Aviation

Juneau airport ready to use resurfaced runway

JUNEAU -- A runway resurfacing project years in the making has recently been completed at Juneau International Airport.

Wednesday marks the first day planes will land on the refurbished runway. They have been using the airport's taxiway as a temporary runway since work began in April, the Juneau Empire reported.

Airport staff and city officials gathered Tuesday morning to watch Mayor Merrill Sanford cut a red, white and blue ribbon stretch across the new runway.

Airport manager Patricia deLaBruere says the runway was last resurfaced in 1997 and had needed an update for years.

The airport began planning for the project a year and a half ago and moved it higher on the list.

Construction crews removed three inches of old asphalt from the runway and laid down five inches of new asphalt. The new runway boasts a surface that encourages runoff by sloping down slightly from the center. There are also grooves across the blacktop to help rainwater trickle off.

The grooves also provide a safer surface for stopping aircraft in wet conditions.

The total project cost is about $21 million. Federal money paid for almost $20 million of the project and the local match was split between the city and state.

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