Newark Liberty Airport Reopens Key Runway Ahead of Schedule

Sept. 29, 2021
Revamped, repaved 4R-22L Runway features modernized electrical lighting, infrastructure enhancements and new signage.
Newark Liberty International Airport has reopened one of its major runways after a three-month closure to repave the surface and add key upgrades. With the reopening, all airport runways are again operational during peak hours while auxiliary work, including taxiway and lighting improvements, will continue off peak into the spring of 2022.
Originally set to reopen Oct. 1, the runway returned to service on Monday, five days ahead of schedule. The work was accelerated to take advantage of reduced flight schedules resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the runway, which serves as a primary landing facility at Newark Liberty, handled nearly 50 percent of the airport’s flight activity.
The additional work scheduled into next year during off-peak hours will upgrade the Ground Based Augmentation System power infrastructure and provide replacement and installation of fixtures and associated electrical infrastructure for the remaining runway and taxiway lighting systems.
The $84.2 million project, staged in consultation with Federal Aviation Administration and the airlines to minimize operational impacts, includes:
• Paving covering pavement that is the equivalent of more than 63 football fields;
• More than 100,000 feet of cable for tarmac lighting infrastructure;
• Installation of more than 64,000 linear feet of electrical conduit; and
• Coordination of more than 500 truck deliveries to and from the tarmac during peak activity days.