October 23rd, 2019 – Town of Islip officials today unveiled Long Island MacArthur Airport runway improvements which were completed on-time and on budget.
Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter; Shelley LaRose-Arken, Airport Commissioner; Federal Aviation Administration, elected officials, business leaders; leadership from construction and engineering contractors and stakeholders, gathered on Runway 6/24 to celebrate the completion of the Runway 6/24 Rehabilitation project. The project includes new pavement, enhanced pitching and state-of-the-art lighting.
“Runway 6/24 is our primary runway, and its service life is essential to serving our airlines, general aviation operations and customers with excellence now, and going into the future,” said LaRose-Arken. “We are so proud of the effort made to complete this improvement project ahead of schedule and on-budget. All work was strategically accomplished in 6-hour time periods at night, so we did not inconvenience our passengers, or interrupt our air carriers,” she emphasized.
The runway upgrades include installing new energy-efficient LED lighting, and replacing all 139 in-pavement runway centerline lights and associated conduit and cabling.
“All of the investment that we’ve been putting into Long Island MacArthur airport is really giving the public a sense of why this is the airport of choice, especially for Long Islanders. This and other upgrade projects and infrastructure improvements position MacArthur Airport for a strong future,” said Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter. “In addition to generating skilled jobs for our area, this rehabilitation prepares our airport for years to come, as we continue to serve Long Island air travelers and the aviation community, while at the same time, providing infrastructure integrity to our valued community,” added the Supervisor.
“It had been roughly 20 years since the 7006-ft Runway 6/24 had a complete rehabilitation,” explained Rob Schneider, Deputy Commissioner. “Normal wear and tear causes asphalt to deteriorate. The rehabilitation and paving consisted of 74,000 tons of new asphalt and the runway has been crowned 3 ft. off the centerline to improve drainage and run off”, he added.
The FAA authorized a $14.28 million grant for the rehabilitation work in 2018. The remaining funding was secured from NY State and the local share funded by Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). The total project cost: $16,378,161.
Town and airport officials acknowledged partners in the project: the aviation community, Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic and Tech Operations, Intercounty Paving Associates and JKL Engineers.
