Aug. 06--The Medford airport's main commercial runway is slated for $8.3 million in repairs and rehabilitation that likely will start next spring.
The 8,800-foot runway requires repairs under Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. An order will go before the Jackson County Board of Commissioners Wednesday for approval. The project will involve resurfacing the runway's top layer of asphalt.
"This will be a project where we'll find the bad spots, saw cut and dig. It's a pretty major project, but it'll give us a good 15 to 20 years," said airport Director Bern Case. "They're designed for at least 15 years. We usually get more than that out of them."
About $7.46 million will be paid with FAA grants, and the remaining $828,669 will come from airport reserves and ConnectOregon grant funds, according to the board order. The work is expected to take about three months to complete.
Case said the project is expected to have little impact on departing and arriving flights. Most of the runway work is planned for between midnight and around 5 a.m.
"We'll minimize the impact. We're fine tuning exactly how we schedule it," Case said. "We're going to make it as invisible as we can."
-- Ryan Pfeil
Copyright 2013 - Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
