Asphalt Problems Delay MWH Runway Reopening

MOSES LAKE — A problem with the asphalt used to repave a section of the main runway at Grant County International Airport will delay the runway’s reopening until next week, according to officials with the Port of Moses Lake.

According to GCIA director Rich Mueller, the asphalt used for the top layers of the new runway, which was being resurfaced to remove a small rise in the 13,500-foot runway, had too much air in it to handle large airplanes.

In fact, Mueller said the contractor delivered roadway quality asphalt rather than runway quality.

“It has to be really, really hard to handle the impact of big airplanes,” Mueller said.

Mueller said that the top 2 1/2 inches of the asphalt were removed and then the lengthy stretch of runway was repaved.

The Federal Aviation Administration paid for most of the $20 million project to remove the hump. The delay will not cost the port any additional money, Mueller said.

Port Executive Director Don Kersey said once the main runway repairs are completed, Boeing will likely begin a series of flight tests of its new 777-9 jumbo jet, an improved version of the 777 with composite wings and folding wingtips.

“It will not be based here at first,” he said.

Kersey said the week-long delay is also not expected to interrupt any cherry shipments to China, the first of which is expected to fly out of Moses Lake on June 18.

———

©2020 the Columbia Basin Herald, Wash.

Visit the Columbia Basin Herald, Wash. at www.columbiabasinherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.