Newark Liberty International Airport recently reopened one of its major runways five days ahead of schedule. The runway was closed for three months to repave the surface and perform upgrades.
The runway serves as one of the airport’s primary landing facilities. Before the pandemic, the runway handled nearly half of the airport’s flight activity. As a result of the pandemic, reduced flight schedules allowed work to continue on an accelerated schedule.
All runways are now operational during peak hours. Auxiliary work, including taxiway and lighting improvements, will continue off peak into the spring of 2022.
Auxiliary work will upgrade the Ground Based Augmentation System power infrastructure and will replace and install fixtures and associated electrical infrastructure for the remaining runway and taxiway lighting systems.
The complete project cost is $84.2 million. It is staged in consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines to minimize operational impacts.
Improvements have included more than 100,000 feet of cable for tarmac lighting infrastructure; installation of more than 64,000 linear feet of electrical conduit; paving covering pavement that is the equivalent of more than 63 football fields; and coordination of more than 500 truck deliveries to and from the tarmac during peak activity days.
Work is scheduled to continue into next year.