BILLINGS - The city of Billings plans on some repairs and improvements to the crosswinds runway used by lighter airplanes, at Billings Logan International Airport.
The city council approved the $6,169,295.00 Runway 7/25 Reconstruction and Extension Project at a meeting on Monday night.
It will be paid with $4 million from the airport's FAA Airport Improvement Program entitlement grant funds and a combination of other sources of money.
Askin Construction gave the lowest of three bids.
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“We're going 20 (MPH) and it's pretty bouncy, so you're going 100 (MPH), it's just magnifies out that much,” Mick McCarthy, Airport Operations Supervisor, said while driving a car and explaining how much rougher it would be for an airplane.
Cracks have been filled with sealant on the runway, which has material that is 30 years old.
“The runway actually ends at this white stripe here, and then you got a lot of down down angle here, so this is going to continue out another 850 feet,” McCarthy said about the west end of the runway.
Runway 7/25 will be extended from 5,501 to 6,310 feet.
Lighter airplanes use the runway, if the winds are too strong and in the wrong direction on the main runway.
“So if it's too much of a crosswind and gets the wings dipping, especially the small aircraft,” McCarthy said.
“We're going to go ahead and totally reconstruct that runway to improve the safety of the runway surface because it's breaking down due to age,” said Jeff Roach, city of Billings director of aviation & transit.
Roach says the runway will be longer and able to handle heavier planes.
“So we're talking about the largest of the business jet aircraft, the Gulfstreams or the Cessna Citations, those will be able to utilize the crosswind runway.”
Construction will start in May and it's estimated to finish in the fall.
“Any time we're looking at upgrading our facilities and improving what we have, improving the safety of our facilities, it's always a very positive thing for the airport,” Roach said.
