Springfield airport gets grant for runway rehab

Springfield-Branson National Airport will be getting nearly a million dollars in federal grant money to rehab its main runway, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill said Friday.

The airport will receive $860,000 through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration grant program for engineering and design work to rehabilitate Runway 14/32.

At 8,000 feet, the asphalt runway is the longer of the two at the airport, according to spokesman Kent Boyd. He said the project, which would require the runway to be closed for several months, could cost between $6 million and $10 million.

The runway was last rehabbed 16 years ago - several years more than is ideal, Boyd said.  
When work begins and the runway is closed to traffic, Boyd said airlines could have to make decisions about passenger numbers or fuel to carry on board. The biggest issue is in the summer, when airplanes have more difficulty getting lift - and need as much runway as possible - due to warmer air. Runway 14/32 is longer than the alternate runway, which is only 7,000 feet.

The airline that could face the biggest issue, he added, is Allegiant Air, which flies larger MD-80 aircraft through Springfield. When a runway has been closed in the past, the airline has taken less fuel on flights to Las Vegas and Los Angeles and landed for refueling somewhere along the route, often in Wichita, Kan.[[In-content Ad]]