The $6 million Runway 11-29 Reconstruction Project is now underway at Missoula International Airport. The work started up on Monday and means that aircraft will be effected by rolling closures for about three weeks.
The project involves the complete reconstruction of the 9,500 foot runway and will temporarily halt five of the six commercial carriers that provide service to Missoula, including Delta Connection, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines,
Horizon Air, and Allegiant. Meanwhile Big Sky Airlines says they plan to keep operating during the first and third stages of the closures.
Airport officials say Runway 11-29 will be closed from August 27th until August 31st; from September 4th until September 7th and again from September 10th until September 14th between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
The airport will resume normal operations on the weekends and over the Labor Day Holiday.
(from July 24, 2007)
Officials with the Missoula International Airport are getting ready to shut down the main runway for reconstruction at the end of August and that means changes are in store for aerial firefighters.
The folks at Neptune Aviation say that while the situation isn't ideal they are prepared to work around it. The primary runway will be closed for three weeks starting at the end of August and with fire season already burning officials say they're ready to adapt to the changes.
The heat of fire season has started three weeks earlier than predicted officials and U.S. Forest Service say they are preparing for the three-week closure of Missoula's primary runway by operating at other air tanker bases.
Runway 11-29 was last resurfaced back in 1992 and airport officials say that it's due time for construction. But with fire season in full swing officials with Neptune Aviation tell us while the weather is in Mother Nature's Hands they're prepared for the runway closure.
The primary runway will be closed starting from August 27th until September 14th and the construction will halt most commercial aircraft.
While no commercial or firefighting planes able to land in Missoula resources at Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell will lend a helping hand. During the time Missoula airport re-paves their runway, fire crews will use Glacier Park International Airport as their first back-up resource.
U.S. Forest Service Air tanker Base Manager RC Fortune says they'll load the retardant onto the tankers to send out to any fires on land from the North Fork up to the Canadian border and down to areas south of Missoula.
"I can comfortably handle 3 large tankers, if I get enough turn. I've got 10,000 gallons of retardant and with the constant mix-in of help that we can keep up with them whatever needs to be done gets done."
Fortune adds they have had as many as five large tankers at the base at their busiest times and so far they've helped local fire agencies with the successful initial attack of 96 fire starts in northwest Montana.
