Airfield project beginning Sept. 8 will complete LED upgrades to airfield
MSP’s Runway 17-35 will close on Sept. 8 for six weeks to upgrade electrical systems on the runway and connected taxiways.
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Airports Commission
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MINN — Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) Runway 17-35 will close Sept. 8 for six weeks to upgrade electrical systems on the runway and connected taxiways. During the project, crews will replace all existing elevated and in-pavement halogen fixtures with energy-efficient LED lighting along the entire runway — completing a multi-year effort to modernize airfield lighting.
“This final phase of work will bring the entire MSP airfield to all LED lighting, improving airfield visibility, advancing long-term sustainability, reducing energy use and enhancing operational reliability,” said Bridget Rief, vice president of planning and development for the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP. “It’s a formative milestone given the extensive phasing and coordination required to install more than 6,100 airfield lights while maintaining safe operations during those various projects.”
There are no major impacts to aircraft operations expected during the Runway 17‑35 closure. Air traffic control will be able to assign departing or arriving flights to any of MSP’s three other runways based on wind direction, air traffic demand and other operational factors. Air traffic will return to pre-construction operational patterns once the runway work is completed, currently scheduled no later than Oct. 17.
The LED lighting project will involve converting hundreds of fixtures from 20 to 6.6 input amperage. The conversion will provide a significant reduction in energy usage and improved equipment longevity — runway lights decrease from 120 watts to 50 watts, while taxiway lights decrease from 45 watts to 15 watts. Life expectancy increases from 2,000 hours for incandescent to 50,000 for LED.
“Modernizing airfield lighting supports our efforts to enhance resiliency and reduce the airport’s total emissions, a key MAC sustainability goal,” said Rief. “These upgrades will also reduce maintenance frequency and operational downtime with fewer replacement cycles due to the improved life expectancy of the new lights.”
For the Runway 17‑35 project phase alone, crews will install 436 runway lights and 617 taxiway lights — approximately 27% of the airfield’s total light output. The project also includes LED upgrades to airfield signage and the replacement of regulators and transformers associated with the runway lighting system.
MSP’s airfield consists of four runways, 19 taxiways and 58 taxiway feeders with a total concrete pavement area that equals 210 lane miles (over 600 acres).
The MAC began reducing airfield lighting energy use at MSP in 2019 by converting Runway 4-22 taxiway lighting and signage from incandescent to LED. It later completed LED conversions on runways 12L-30R in 2024 and 12R-30L in 2025.
