Redmond Airport plans more runway work
The Redmond Airport is looking to make about $12 million worth of runway improvements.
“What it will allow us to do is reconstruct our secondary runway,” airport Director Zachary Bass said Monday.
The airport will ask for City Council approval Tuesday evening to apply for a Federal Aviation Administration grant of more than $11 million. A local match of about $750,000 also will be needed.
Bass said in the past, they airport has been quite successful in getting funding.
“An example of that is, our main runway didn’t cost us any money. That was an $18 million project,” Bass said. “We’re actually finishing up Taxiway B currently, which is about a $4.5 million project. Again, we leveraged ConnectOregon or (ODOT) money.”
Bass said even without extra resources, the project will move forward. He said it’s time the secondary runway got some attention.
“The life of most pavement is about 20 years, per the FAA, and the last time we redid our secondary runway was a little over 20 years ago,” he said. “So, it’s that time in the cycle of pavement.”
People who use Roberts Field frequently may have been affected by the runway construction last May. Fortunately, this project will have less impact on their travels.
“If you remember, last summer we redid the main runway, and we closed the actual airport for 21 days,” Bass said. “Well, during that time, we actually did enough of the secondary runway so we wouldn’t have to close during this time.”
This time, he said, airport visitors most likely won’t even notice the reconstruction is underway. The grant is expected to be approved, and the work will most likely start in the spring or summer of 2018.
