After on-again and off-again proclamations, the director of the Fort Collins Loveland Airport says repairs to its runway are complete.
The project’s $7 million in funding was caught in a stalemate between Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration last month, which caused hundreds of furloughs nationwide. Director Jason Licon says obtaining the money was a bigger obstacle than the logistics of shutting down the airport’s one runway for weeks.
“Our biggest challenge was to obtain that FAA grant that was so critical for the funding of this project,” he says. “We were able to get the grant signed the Friday before we started work on [August] 15th.”
Licon says 220 jobs were created for the 15 days—well above the 150 projected.
“All the things associated with the FAA funding are at risk whenever they have these furloughs,” he says. “I hope more understanding comes about on how much of an effect it has on airports like ours, and other airports throughout the country.”
The airport last repaved its runway in 1989. In addition to the new asphalt, officials added new runway lights and expanded the airport’s passenger terminal.