By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
The Great Bend Municipal Airport’s Runway 17/35 received substantial completion on Jan. 17 on a resurfacing project that started last April. Being shutdown for more than nine months, Airport Manager Martin Miller was pleased to have the runway open again and with the nearly finished product.
Although planes are allowed to make use of the 7,851-foot runway, Miller says the city is waiting for the spring when painting can occur. Staff also needs the light manufacturer to come fix several LED lights along the runway.
"There are 103 lights that need to light up on the main runway," said Miller. "When we fired it up, 19 of them did not. It is not a lamp. It is a computer circuit board that will reprogram every light."
The Federal Aviation Administration and Kansas Department of Transportation covered 90 percent of the costs to completely reconstruct the full runway. Great Bend’s 10-percent share is expected to be $782,123.