Kahului Airport has received $6 million from the state – $4.75 million for construction and $1.25 million for environmental impact statement studies – to repave a portion of its main runway.
The funds come as part of nearly $22 million released Thursday by Gov. Neil Abercrombie for airport and highway capital improvement projects approved by state lawmakers last month.
In March, Abercrombie approved the spending of $50 million for the construction of a new “Airport Loop Road” that will bring drivers straight into the terminal area. (Now, motorists headed to the airport need to take a more indirect route off of Keolani Place.) Construction of the Loop Road is slated to begin late summer.
“Our state’s economy is growing stronger, and it is important that we maintain this positive momentum by continuing to invest in priority capital improvement projects – particularly those maintaining and upgrading our transportation infrastructure, which is essential to island commerce, business, the visitor industry and our way of life,” Abercrombie said.
The repaving of Kahului Airport’s main runway, Runway 2-20, is a “short-term fix” to allow operations to run smoothly, according to airport officials.
“For us, it (the repaving of the runway) eliminates us having to do as much maintenance, which causes delays and interruptions,” said Marvin Moniz, Maui District airports manager.
Kahului Airport’s main runway was built in 1942 and has had asphalt overlays five times – in 1969, 1972, 1981, 1995 and 2000. In 2006, 2 inches were milled from the runway’s surface and filled. This time, officials plan to replace 3 inches off the surface, which should last another five to 10 years, Moniz said.
“We’re still doing studies on a long-term plan, discussing with airline carriers and juggling the numbers to see what we can do. It’s a work in progress, but we know (this project) will hold us up for a while,” Moniz said.
A long-term plan to replace the asphalt runway with a concrete one is necessary to meet demand because larger and heavier aircraft carriers from the Mainland continue to land at the airport and strain the runway, he said. However, the planning and development of such an extensive project still needs to be worked out, he added.
In 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration notified the state Department of Transportation that federal funds would no longer be available for ongoing piecemeal patching of the runway. Former Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration hired an engineering firm to study the issue and make an assessment. A report of the firm’s findings with three primary options – was delivered to state transportation officials in the summer of 2011.
The study reported that runway 2-20 has been demonstrating increased asphalt pavement deterioration in the form of cracks, shoving, separation and other pavement stresses . . . A slow but steady rise in pavement stresses has resulted in an increase in the presence of foreign object debris.” The study warned that such debris “has the ability to severely damage aircraft when accidentally sucked into jet aircraft engines.”
Officials emphasized that while the runway had been deteriorating, it was safe. Patchwork repairs, however, were costing the state $1 million per year.
Caroline Sluyter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, said the department is doing preliminary work to start an environmental impact statement, which usually takes between 18 and 24 months to complete, for the concrete runway. In the meantime, the runway resurfacing will reduce the need for constantly patching potholes, she said.
“As you can imagine, runways get a lot of use and wear-and-tear from landings and takeoffs,” Sluyter said. “We are very grateful Governor Abercrombie released this money so we can get this important work done.”
As planned, construction will likely begin at the start of next year in the hours between midnight and 8 a.m. when no commercial flights land at the airport, Moniz said.
Freight and cargo carriers like Aloha Air Cargo and UPS Inc. usually land flights at the airport during the affected early-morning hours, but those carriers’ flights will be rescheduled when construction begins.
Officials estimate that runway construction will be completed within 90 days, with no disruption to commercial flights.
Kapalua Airport also received state funds of $100,000 for the expansion of its Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Station.
(source: The Maui News, click here for this article on their website)
