Runway soon to undergo Rehabilitation at KI Sawyer
GWINN — Sawyer International Airport will be starting construction on their runway this coming June to meet the required standards by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The rehabilitation of the runway will give the airport 10 more years of service and will provide safer conditions for airport staff and travelers. The runway will be shortening its length from twelve thousand three hundred and thirty seven feet to nine thousand and seventy feet, which will help lower maintenance cost throughout the year especially during the winter months.
The reduction of the runway will not hinder any aircraft that are currently in use. This project will undergo 5 phases that will cost $5.5 million; this will take place from June 4th to the estimated completion date of mid September and part of 2019. There will be select days that the runway will be closed for a certain amount of time for the construction.
“There are going to be a few closures during this process,” said, Airport Manager, Duane R. Duray. “Most of them are for a short period of time. Runway closures are going to range from 5 hours to 72 hours.”
Even though the runway is undergoing big changes it will continue to be an effective airstrip for all aircraft that come to the Upper Peninsula.