Airport runway repairs scheduled for October

Carson City Airport runway repairs will fill the month of October but night work should keep flight disruptions to a minimum, an airport official said.

The airport got approval recently from the Federal Aviation Administration to use part of a $3.7 million grant intended for runway reconstruction to do short-term repairs instead.

Bids for the estimated $530,000 repair project will be opened Sept. 19. Runway work is scheduled to run from Oct. 2 to Nov. 10. It will entail fixing cracks along the length of the airport's only runway, airport manager Yvon Weaver said.

"We will try to get (the chosen contractor) to do the work evenings and nights," Weaver said, adding there may be occasions when the runway will have to be closed during the day.

The rest of the FAA grant was returned with the understanding that Carson City would later apply for a new grant for $7 million to $10 million to pay for the increased costs of a realigned runway. The original grant paid for rebuilding the runway at the present location but airport and FAA officials decided that a new alignment would be better.

The runway is a major part of the Carson City Airport Authority's year-long effort to draw up a new airport master plan. The nearly completed master plan will be presented Wednesday at a special meeting.

The authority meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Bonanza Room at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.

The FAA urged the airport authority to complete a new master plan before reapplying for a new runway reconstruction grant. Initial hopes had been to rebuild the runway this year, but now a new runway won't be built until at least 2002.

"(The FAA) wants to make sure we know what direction we want to go," Weaver said.If you go

What: Airport runway repairs

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Bonanza Room at the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.