Airport receives grant towards runway reconstruction
SAWYER — An upcoming project at a local airport has received a big boost in the right direction in the form of a six-figure grant.
Sawyer International Airport received a $175,000 grant from a program within the Federal Aviation Administration.
A combination of funds from the FAA plus local and state resources will allow the airport to construct a design of what the airport will look like when officials redo the runway in a couple of years.
“The runway project is a designed project so that in the coming years we can move forward and have the runway completely rehabilitated,” said Sawyer Airport Manager Duane DuRay. “We’re going to be putting in new lighting, new navaids. We’re going to be shortening the runway a little bit to reduce our maintenance.”
DuRay added that the runway’s new look will be designed over the winter months. The overall cost of the runway reconstruction is around $6 million.
Officials expect the entire project to be completed sometime in 2018.