Officials at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport, busily preparing for a major air show this weekend, were able to pull off the re-opening of a 6,000-foot runway last week on time and under budget.
It's one leg of an ambitious three-part capital project that will have all of the airport's three main runways renovated by mid-June.
Last Friday's opening of Runway 9L/27R on the airport's north side was marked by a celebratory takeoff of an Embraer Phenom 300 business class jet. Embraer assembles the Phenom jets, along with the Legacy class of business jets, on the airport's north side and will be a main user of the runway.
It also will be the main area for attendees of the the Melbourne Air & Space Show this weekend.
Next up at Orlando Melbourne is refurbishing the 3,000-foot Runway 5/23, scheduled to begin April 9, and then 9R/27L which at 10,181 feet is nearly two miles long. The latter is planned to be ready by mid-June 2018.
Greg Donovan, executive director of Orlando Melbourne International Airport, said pulling off three runway projects and working around a major air show required determination "but it was necessary and our team was up to the challenge."
The airport said it has been nearly a quarter of a century since the three runways were resurfaced and typically those projects are spaced out months or years, not done consecutively over a period of weeks.
But airport officials said considerable growth at the airport, which includes dramatic expansions by Embraer and Northrop Grumman Corp., required a quicker timetable for all three runways.
The renovations include complete removal and replacement of the pavement, new runway markings, upgraded electronics, lighting and new signage. The contractor for the project is V.A. Paving of Cocoa, Florida. The Melbourne Airport Authority approved a budget of more than $3.5 million a year a ago for Runway 9L/27R.
The project came in under budget by $57,909. That savings will be applied to the second runway project.
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