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RUNWAYS  
September 2026      AirportImprovement.com
RDD
Leonard explain, would have taken three or 
four months, and could have tripled the cost.
“It definitely saved a lot on the 
construction cost as well as the overall 
timeline that we would have been closed,” 
Leonard relates. “Because obviously, if you 
have to open and close, you have to stop 
a half a shift to basically button everything 
up for reopening. So, it allowed us a more 
streamlined, more cost-effective project.”
The approach also positively impacted 
the final results. Paving during the night and 
stopping each morning to open the runway 
for traffic would have created connection 
points where pavement might fail more 
quickly over time, explains Griggs. By using 
a continuous pavement process, RDD 
should not need to refurbish the surface for 
another 20 years, he adds. 
“We have a clean product,” Griggs 
remarks. “It buys us a lot more time to be 
self-sustaining without having to do any 
patchwork or repairs.”
When the primary runway reopened in late 
October 2025, it did so as Runway 17-35 
to reflect slight magnetic shifts that had 
occurred slowly over the years. Similarly, 
Crosswind Runway 12-30 was redesignated 
Runway 13-31. Naturally, the new compass 
headings required the airport to update 
pavement numbers, airfield signage, etc. 
Final striping and a few other minor closing 
pieces of the project remained in process 
this spring. 
Another pending project for the airport 
is runway safety area improvements. FAA 
initially wanted to add shoulders and safety 
areas on both sides of the primary runway 
during the resurfacing project, but that work 
was deferred because it would have added 
significant cost.  
The entire 7,003-foot runway was milled 
and overlayed with fresh asphalt. 

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