Runway Operations to Close Temporarily on Tuesday During Installation
A MAC crew installs a section of the temporary flood wall at St. Paul Downtown Airport on April 13, 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL– The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) will temporarily cease aircraft operations Tuesday at St. Paul Downtown Airport (STP) while crews install flood control measures due to rising water levels on the Mississippi River.
The river borders the airport and is expected to reach major flood stage by Wednesday, rising above 18 feet by the end of the week.
The MAC, which owns and operates the airport, mobilized crews last week to install a portion of its two-thirds mile metal plank floodwall system along the east end of the airfield, which led to the closure of runways 9/27 and 13/31. These secondary runways will remain closed until the temporary floodwall has been removed.
STP’s primary runway, 14/32, will temporarily close at 10 a.m. Tuesday to allow crews to extend the floodwall across the south end of the airfield. This will shorten the runway – which is normally 6,491 feet – by 1,150 feet. Crews will restripe the runway’s operational markings during the closure and reopen it by 8 p.m., weather permitting.
“We’ve been preparing for many weeks to activate these full measures that mitigate flooding risks to the airfield and airport facilities at STP,” said Joe Harris, director of reliever airports for the MAC. “These preparations are helping maintain safe operations and minimize impacts for our customers.”
The wall is currently 4 feet high and can be raised to a maximum height of 8.5 feet if needed. This is the seventh deployment of the system since it was developed in 2008.
STP’s terminal building and airport services will remain open during Tuesday’s installation.
The St. Paul Downtown Airport is an important aviation hub, serving as a base for more than 90 aircraft. In 2022, the airport handled 41,592 takeoffs and landings.
About The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC)
The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) owns and operates one of the nation’s largest airport systems, including Minneapolis-St Paul International (MSP) and six general aviation airports. The MAC’s airports connect the region to the world and showcase Minnesota’s extraordinary culture to millions of passengers from around the globe who arrive or depart through MAC airports each year. Though a public corporation of the state of Minnesota, the organization is not funded by income or property taxes. Instead, the MAC’s operations are funded by rents and fees generated by users of its airports. For more information, visit www.metroairports.org.
PAVIX: Proven Winner for All Airport Concrete Infrastructure
International Chem-Crete Corporation (ICC) manufactures and sells PAVIX, a unique line of crystalline waterproofing products that penetrate into the surface of cured concrete to fill and seal pores and capillary voids, creating a long lasting protective zone within the concrete substrate.
Once concrete is treated, water is prevented from penetrating through this protective zone and causing associated damage, such as freeze-thaw cracking, reinforcing steel corrosion, chloride ion penetration, and ASR related cracking.
This white paper discusses how the PAVIX CCC100 technology works and its applications.