Methow Valley State Airport has a new runway after a 45-day temporary closure to rehabilitate the 22-year-old pavement.
The newly paved runway opened July 3 in time to avoid interfering with anticipated fire season activities of the U.S. Forest Service’s North Cascades Smokejumper Base, which operates out of the airport.
Work on the $5 million airport rehabilitation project began May 14 to replace the pavement and make other improvements to the airport infrastructure, according to Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which manages the airport.
Methow Valley State Airport in Winthrop is the largest of 16 WSDOT-managed airports, serving aircraft weighing up to 30,000 pounds.
Although the runway is open for public use, the west side taxiway connector and transient parking ramp will remain closed into August in order to complete additional pavement upgrades, WSDOT said.
Limited space is being made available for visiting aircraft with prior permission in the Rams Head hangar development on the east side of the airport. Pilots are advised to check NOTAM’s and contact the airport manager for prior permission to access limited parking.
Selland Construction of Wenatchee worked on the runway, taxiway connector and parking ramp portion of the project. A final phase to expand the west general aviation aircraft parking apron to the south was re-bid in June. Timing of construction for that portion of the project is not known at this time, according to WSDOT.
Construction costs are split between the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program and WSDOT Aviation. The FAA is supporting 90 percent and WSDOT Aviation is supporting 10 percent of the total cost.
