Airport’s Main Runway Reopens Special-Order Parts Will Complete Five-Month Resurfacing Project

Wed., Oct. 25, 1995

Spokane International Airport’s main runway reopened Tuesday for limited use after a five-month closure for resurfacing.

Airport spokesman Todd Woodard said the runway’s instrument landing system, which was disrupted by the construction, was tested and approved Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Woodard said construction won’t be completed for about a week, but the runway is available for all types of landings, including night and instrument landings.

Tuesday was the deadline for contractors to be done, but custom-manufactured parts still hadn’t arrived for some of the approximately 580 runway lights.

Officials are limiting use of the runway to avoid jarring the lights, which are set in the pavement. Woodard said the special-order parts are expected to arrive by the end of the week.

Reopening the 9,000-foot runway for general use will eliminate restrictions on the number of passengers planes can carry. Load restrictions, which have caused some delays, were necessary so jetliners could take off and land on an 8,200-foot, secondary runway.

Ninety percent of the $2.6 million runway project is being paid from federal aviation taxes, and the rest will come from local airport fees.

The main runway previously was resurfaced in 1977 and 1989. Woodard said recycled materials that were used in 1989 failed to hold up as well as expected, but the new pavement is expected to last 15 years.

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