Glacier Park Airport Returns to Full Operations Following Runway Rehabilitation
Crews replaced more than 30 acres of pavement and upgraded infrastructure to improve the runway, which had not been rehabilitated since 2009
By Maggie Dresser
Following a four-week construction schedule that closed Glacier Park International Airport’s (GPIA) runway from Monday night through Friday morning, crews have finished the rehabilitation project as operations return to full service, according to airport officials.
Rehabilitation work included replacing more than 30 acres of runway pavement, upgraded lighting and communications infrastructure, miles of new airfield electrical cable installation, and improved drainage, according to a press release announcing the project’s completion. Crews also constructed new taxiway connections and enhanced other critical airfield systems.
Following a 30-day curing period, the remaining work that includes runway grooving and striping will be conducted in September, which will not impact travelers.
Commercial flights operated at 60% throughout the closure, which reopened to travelers on Friday mornings during the peak tourism month.
According to Montana Department of Transportation data, GPIA experiences peak travel during July, which saw 77,864 boardings last year compared to 55,386 boardings in September.
Throughout the project, contractor LHC, Inc. mobilized a crew of more than 100 workers who operated around the clock to keep the project on pace, logging more than 25,000 hours of combined labor. More than a dozen contractors, including engineers, surveyors, inspectors and suppliers, collaborated to complete the project.
“LHC ran a tight operation from start to finish,” GPIA Director Rob Ratkowski said. “Coordinating that many people and that much equipment without missing a beat is no small thing.”
Last rehabilitated in 2009, the main runway was showing visible signs of distress and was expected to reach the end of its expected lifespan this summer. Postponing the work would have posed serious safety risks, increased costs and complexity and would have jeopardized critical federal funding.
The paving work required a window of dry weather and low temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, as outlined by the Federal Aviation Administration. After reviewing 20 years of weather data, July was determined to offer the most reliable conditions.
Because of favorable July conditions, only four of the project’s 352 total hours were lost to rain.
“Part of the reason this project was delivered on schedule is that the trends we saw in the weather data held true, and that allowed our team to execute it exactly as designed,” Ratkowski said.
“This project was an investment in our community,” Ratkowski added. “Every resident, business, and visitor to the Flathead Valley benefits from this project. We’re proud to have completed this work successfully and grateful to everyone who helped make it possible.”