Van Nuys Airport management and tenants have devised a plan for repairing the 8,000-foot main runway to improve safety, while minimizing disruption of service at the San Fernando Valley airport. The project will be conducted in three phases with a full closure of 10 days and 26 nights between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In March, Los Angeles World Airports staff proposed a runway shutdown lasting two to four weeks. The agreement culminates several months of talks between the stakeholders, though issues such as a timeline for the work still must be worked out. LAWA had recommended putting an asphalt overlay on the shoulders of the runway while reconstructing the 50-foot wide center, or keel section, of the main runway. The airport tenants association hired its own engineers who conducted inspections and testing and determined that an asphalt overlay could be placed on much of the runway. The parties agreed that the airport will put into place an overlay on a 4,400-foot section of the runway, said airport Manager Jess Romo. However, there are some short sections that would require reconstruction — a lengthier process than an overlay, Romo said. A federal grant will cover 95 percent of the repair costs, with the balance picked up by a state grant and the airport. The refurbished runway must be able to last 20 years to be eligible for the federal grant. “We have an obligation to the flying public and our corporate customers to do this so there is a strong expectation (that) when they touch down, the runway will support their aircraft,” Romo said. Repairs to the north and south ends will shorten the runway to no less than 5,000 feet for landings and 5,200 feet for takeoffs. The repair project does not affect the airport’s second 4,000-foot runway, used mainly by piston aircraft. The next step is completing the design of the repairs and setting a timeline to perform the work. After approval by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, LAWA can apply for a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline. Transportation Center A groundbreaking has been scheduled for July 6 for the new regional intermodal transportation center at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The $81 million project will consolidate rental car operations into a single location and serve as a connection for Metro buses, and Metrolink and Amtrak trains. The center is expected to open in 2014. A first-round of bidding in May 2011 came in over budget, which led the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to scale back the size and scope of the center. The project was rebid earlier this year, and the authority in May awarded construction contracts to McCarthy Building Companies, headquartered in St. Louis, to build the center and walkway to the terminal and Orange County-based Bomel Construction Company for a replacement parking structure. The center is the largest capital works project the Authority had undertaken, President Don Brown said. “The center will enable people to have more choices of modes of transportation, public and private, to get to and from the Airport and help lessen traffic demand on nearby roadways,” Brown said, in a prepared statement. “This is truly an example of increased efficiency and customer service contributing to sustainability in the long run.”
Van Nuys Airport Project Requires Runway Closure
