Glacier Park International Airport reopens runway after one week of rehabilitation work
Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 2 weeks, 3 days AGO
Glacier Park International Airport successfully reopened its primary runway ahead of schedule at 9 a.m. Friday, July 10, marking the completion of the runway rehabilitation’s first phased closure.
From Monday evening through Friday morning, crews worked continuously for 88 hours to complete an intensive reconstruction effort. More than 150 workers representing 14 different companies collaborated around the clock to safely complete the work.
During the closure, construction crews demolished approximately 10,000 square yards of existing pavement, placed approximately 14,500 tons of asphalt, hauled more than 1,100 truckloads of material and completed the work without a single accident or injury.
"This was a great start to the project,” Rob Ratkowski, GPIA airport director, said. “We safely completed an incredible amount of work and reopened the runway ahead of schedule. This achievement was only possible because of the extraordinary dedication of our crews and staff, who worked tirelessly to deliver this result.”
In addition to the pavement rehabilitation, crews replaced several in-pavement runway weather information system sensors, as well as conduits and cable pathways that support the runway lighting and communication systems.
“With three closure periods still ahead, we're grateful for everyone's patience as we continue making these critical improvements,” Ratkowski said.
The project also benefited from excellent weather throughout the construction window, allowing crews to maintain an aggressive schedule. While the primary runway was closed, the airport continued serving the community using its crosswind runway, supporting more than 170 medical, cargo, private, charter and flight training operations.
The runway rehabilitation project extends the service life of the airport's primary runway while maintaining the safe and reliable infrastructure needed to serve the Flathead Valley for years to come.
Additional project information and construction updates are available at iflyglacier.com/runway-rehabilitation.