Airport gearing up for August runway job

The Daily Inter Lake

Glacier Park International Airport's primary runway will be closed for rehabilitation work during 12 days in August.

It will be closed for three full days - Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - each week of the month, plus the nights before and after. The runway will close at 10 p.m. each Monday, then reopen at 9 a.m. each Friday. Weekend travel will not be interrupted.

Full-day closure dates are Aug. 4-6, 11-13, 18-20 and 25-27.

It's for routine maintenance that must be done every 18 to 20 years to maintain the integrity of the runway surface.

Airport Director Cindi Martin said temperature, rainfall and Federal Aviation Administration funding schedules dictate the closure during August, the height of the Flathead's tourist season.

Laying asphalt requires 24-hour air temperatures of 45 degrees or higher, and it is best done when the ground is not wet. After the new pavement cures, it must be grooved while air temperatures still are consistently above 32 degrees. Night-time temperatures start to dip below freezing around Oct. 1, so the grooving must be done in September.

Construction is divided into four phases scaled to accommodate the schedule above. Each phase will be completed between 10 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Friday so that planes have full runway use on the extended weekends.

Small general-aviation aircraft will continue to use the crosswind runway when the main runway is closed, except during Phase 3.

Medical helicopter and other helicopter flights should not be interrupted at all by the work.

For more information, call Martin at 257-5994, extension 222, or go to www.iflyglacier.com.