Portland airport plans $13.7M upgrade on primary runway

Courtesy / Portland International Jetport Rehabilitation of Portland International Jetport’s primary runway is planned for this spring. The red X marks the intersection between the primary and secondary runways.

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By Staff

Plans are in the works to close the primary runway at Portland International Jetport this spring to carry out a $13.77 million improvement project.

The rehabilitation of the east/west Runway 11/29 will take place for 56 days from April 18 through June 13. During that time, all air traffic in and out of the jetport will be operating on the airport's secondary north-south runway, according to a news release.

The redirection will mean a significant change in air traffic over Portland, South Portland, Scarborough and Westbrook.

For 28 days from May 16 through June 13, the airport will be closed for fixed wing aircraft from 10:30 p.m. to 5:45 a.m. to facilitate rehabilitating the runway intersection.

The project comes as air traffic is seeing recovery from pandemic-related slowdowns.

The project is needed because asphalt surfaces have a limited lifespan and require periodic repair and rehabilitation. Factors like aircraft operations and weather over time contribute to the Pavement Condition Index hitting thresholds that require resurfacing. Runway 11/29, the jetport’s primary runway, was resurfaced in 2004. Asphalt runways in northern climates typically require rehabilitation every 15 to 20 years.

The jetport is working with its airline partners to ensure that all flights are planned for the facility’s shorter runway. It has shared the 28 days of overnight closures and the airlines are de-conflicting their schedules from that closure.

As part of the airport's master plan, the project includes milling and overlaying the entire 7,200-foot-long service runway as well as upgrading all of the primary runways lighting to LED.

“This project is a much needed improvement to our primary runway,” Airport Director Paul Bradbury said in the release. “As the runway nears the end of it’s useful life, this project is critical to ensuring the airport is capable of facilitating the communities air transportation needs for the next 15 to 20 years.”

The project entails removal of 27.5 acres of pavement and installation of 34,000 tons of asphalt, 501 new LED taxiway and runway lights, and 19.7 miles of electrical wire.

“We recognize that for eight weeks this spring we will be impacting many neighbors that don’t normally have air traffic over their homes,” Bradbury continued. “We wanted to start the new year beginning to communicate to those communities and will continue to do so frequently through the end of the project in June.”

Pike Industries was awarded the bid in December. Pike is headquartered in Belmont, N.H., and has locations in Maine.

The project was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, the State of Maine and the jetport. No taxpayer dollars are being spent as the program is funded out of the Airport and Airways Trust Fund, which is funded through taxes and fees on airline tickets.

The time frame of April 18 through June 13 was chosen to minimize impact to the community and to airline partners. After mid-June, the jetport’s traffic levels increase significantly.

Portland International Jetport is Maine’s busiest airport – and business has been climbing.

Like other air transportation centers, the jetport saw passenger traffic plummet during the early outbreak of COVID. But as travel restrictions eased last year, the numbers began to turn around. It’s anticipated that traffic volume in 2022 will be close to 2019.

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