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Hurricane-area airport advances south apron rehabilitation; AWOS installation will require temporary runway closure
Summary
Airport staff reported a 90% design for a south-end apron rehabilitation funded by 2025/2026 grants and said installing an Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) will require trenching within runway safety areas and a temporary runway shutdown; exact schedules and durations are not yet set.
Airport staff reported progress on a south-end apron rehabilitation project and said installing an Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) will require trenching within runway safety areas and a temporary shutdown of runway operations.
The apron rehabilitation is currently at about 90% design, and staff said the project will be staged based on available funding from a 2025 grant and anticipated 2026 grant funds. Kurt (staff member) said designers expect to finish plans this year and to pursue bidding, with staff “anticipat[ing] bidding around March” and construction likely in summertime, although exact dates depend on grant release schedules.
Kurt described the south apron as starting at the taxi connector off the main ramp and extending toward the fuel tanks. He said the design will be sized to match available grant dollars rather than a single fixed footprint. “We’re just kind of still kind of adjusting that a little bit,” Kurt said about the planned area and sizing.
Separately, staff described the planned AWOS installation and the operational impact it will have. Dave (staff member) said the AWOS electrical work requires trenching near the runway and that crews will need to be within runway safety areas during installation, meaning the airport will have to close the runway for the work. “There will be some trenching and stuff...we’ll be within the safety areas of the runway. So all that’s gonna have to be shut down,” Dave said. He added that he did not have a firm estimate for the total duration of the work and that staff will distribute the schedule when the date is determined.
A contractor contact was mentioned as having equipment orders placed and staff said they had reached out this morning for scheduling information and hoped to get a response by the end of next month. No firm contractor schedule or completion date for the AWOS installation was provided.
Why it matters: the apron rehabilitation affects aircraft parking and taxiing capacity at the airport, and the AWOS installation will temporarily interrupt runway operations. Both items depend on external grant timing and contractor schedules, which staff said remain uncertain.
Votes and formal actions at the meeting did not address these capital projects; staff updates were presented for discussion only.
