Short term pain but long term gain.
That's the thought of Eagle River Union Airport Manager Rob Hom as he talks about an expected reconstruction of the main north-south runway in 2017. The plan requests $1.6 million dollars from the federal government to pay for the project expected to cost $2.4 million....
"...the project will be funded mostly by the FAA, they contribute upwards of 90 percent of the cost of the project. The local sponsor picks up five pecent and the State of Wisconsin picks up another 5 percent. We have to compete with other airports, but typically replacing pavements are a high priority...."
Hom says the main runway was last repaved in 1970. He says the long runway handles jet traffic and will down for several weeks during construction. He says the crosswind runway will remain open for smaller planes but both will be closed for a short time....
"....it's short term pain for long term gain. It's going to be really tough next year without having the fuel sales...."
Hom says they spent $25,000 this year alone to crack seal the pavement, so it wouldn't take long to repay the money spent at that rate when the new repaving is done.
Hom says the 5,000 foot runway was last repaved in 1970. He says the long runway handles jet traffic and will down for several weeks during construction. He says the crosswind runway will remain open for smaller planes, but both runways will be closed for a time. He says during that time they will lose revenue from fuel sales, but when finished the runway will be able to provide service for a long time to come.
