Freshly repaved and restriped, the main runway at Skagit Regional Airport (BVS) in Washington state reopened at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 17, after a six-week construction closure.
“The runway is open one week ahead of schedule thanks to the hard work of Interwest Construction, Precision Approach Engineering, and our Airport Supervisor Bob Nord,” said Sara Young, manager of planning and environmental services at the Port of Skagit, which owns and operates the airport. “Thanks very much to our great project team.”
The construction work was a major portion of the Runway 10-28 Overlay and Underdrain Improvements project, which began May 3. Interwest Construction Inc., Burlington, is the general contractor for the $2.5 million project, while the Bellingham office of Precision Approach Engineering designed the project and is providing project oversight. According to project records, 82 people have taken part in the work.
The project replaced the runway’s failed underdrain system with a new system located outside the boundaries of the runway pavement. Then a 2-inch-thick maintenance overlay, compatible with the pending crown conversion, was placed on the runway to limit further deterioration of the surface. Lenses on runway edge lights in the last 2,000 of the runway were replaced, and wildlife deterrent fencing is being installed.
The project will require one final, brief closure of both R/W 10-28 and R/W 04-22 in late July to complete the final coat of pavement marking and restore the R/W 04 threshold to its original position.
The second phase of the 10-28 project, taking place during next summer, will convert the runway’s surface into a crown section, shifting the highest part of the runway from the northern edge to the centerline. At the same time, the eastern 1,500 feet of the runway will be raised approximately 5 feet to make it more compatible with aircraft currently using the airport.
The Port of Skagit is maintaining a page on its website throughout the project to give airport users and the general public access to up-to-date information about the ongoing work.
