A project to rehabilitate the pavement of Plattsburgh International Airport’s Taxiway A is slated to begin next month.
During the Clinton County Legislature’s Airport Committee meeting last week, Airport Director Chris Kreig said a pre-construction meeting took place and the Federal Aviation Administration recently gave him permission to issue a notice to proceed, effective April 11, to Rifenburg Instruction Inc., the project’s general contractor.
PHASED CONSTRUCTION
According to a resolution approved by the legislature in September, the project to rehabilitate both the taxiway and the general aviation apron “will be divided into at least two phases to reduce disruptions to aircraft during construction and allow for Taxiway B to be utilized.”
The first phase is set to focus on the portion of Taxiway A between the apron and Taxiway B, with the total area to be rehabilitated comprising 65,700 square yards.
Taxiway A was originally constructed in 1956, and a portion was rehabilitated in 2012, according to an April 2021 resolution.
The anticipated cost of Phase 1 of the project is $3,656,395, with all but $1 to be covered by an FAA grant.
The legislature also accepted an FAA grant for the cost of Phase 2.
NO RUNWAY SHUTDOWN
Kreig said the taxiway project will not necessitate a runway shutdown.
“We have to close a portion of the runway, but it does not close the runway. That was a one and done thankfully.”
The runway was closed for a little more than two months in spring 2021 to allow for reconstruction of about 4,400 feet of its midfield.
That process involved rubblizing the existing pavement and creating a subbase from those crushed-up pieces, over which a new asphalt layer was laid.
Kreig said the same company who completed the rubblizing work, Wisconsin-based Antigo Construction Inc., will return with its specialized equipment to pound the taxiway.
“So when you get phone calls about why it’s so noisy at the airport, it’s because they’re chopping up portions of the taxiway,” he told legislators.