Airport runway resurfaced; facility to reopen in October

By Rose Hooper

It's also the first time any airport in North Carolina has used the reclamation process, or grinding up the existing pavement to make new pavement, according to Reg Moody Jr., chairman of the Jackson County Airport Authority.

"Back in 1997, we did some spot resurfacing of the runway and taxiway, but nothing of this magnitude has been done in the past 22 years," said Moody of the project that was completed Sept. 19.

"Western North Carolina Paving did an excellent job, especially taking out all the dips," airport Operations Manager Ron Gamble said. "The 2,844-foot-high runway now is as smooth as glass. The other day I set a glass of tea on my dashboard and drove down the runway at 90 mph and not a drop spilled."

The original runway at the Berry Ridge site was 3,400 feet long, but slope failure over the years caused it to loose an estimated 600 feet, Moody said.

"The runway had major cracks... water would run through them and with freezing and thawing, the cracks became quite a problem. We even had grass growing up through some of the them," said Moody, noting that the Aviation Division of the N.C. Department of Transportation considered the runway a safety issue.

Because of the slope failure, the state recommended that the runway be extended and that the marking be standardized. The runway extension took place on the upper, or northwest, end, "giving us an extra 360 feet for a total of 3,180 feet," said Moody.

The improvement has given the airport a B-1 rating and has allowed officials to lift stringent insurance requirements for those landing aircraft at the facility. In addition, the runway sports a 200-foot safety overrun. The extended runway will now accommodate planes approaching at 90 miles per hour or less, Moody said.

With the new runway, the airport authority is adding four clear, white runway lights, 200 feet apart, 13 taxiways lights and six runway end identification lights.

"As a safety feature, we also need two precision-approach path indicators, called PAPIs, because the old familiar landmarks won't work anymore," Moody said.

Because the magnetic variation is always changing and needs to be adjusted every 10 years or so, the Jackson County Airport has been adjusted 10 percent to 33-15.

"Some pilots might think we have turned the runway, but that's not the case," said Gamble. For landing northwest, it's now 330 degrees, and for southeast it's 150 degrees."

Original estimates for the runway resurfacing project three years ago were $250,000. That figure has since increased, Moody said, to around $400,000. The state will pay for 90 percent of the project, with the county funding 10 percent. However, if the project reached the cap of $400,000, the state will pay 100 percent, Moody indicated.

Before paving, Mike McClure of Cherokee Enterprises bulldozed the runway. "When he scraped away all the dirt to make the surface smooth, he had taken it down 12 feet," said Gamble. "When McClure hit rock, the DOT took care of that removal."

The project, which has caused the airport to be closed since June 19, was estimated to be finished in 90 days; it actually took 91 days to be completed.

"All the workers were unbelievable," said Gamble. "They were so conscientious and took great pride in the work they were doing. I can't say enough good things about them."

While the asphalt settles, the crew must wait 14 days before painting lines on the runway. "We expect to be open by the first weekend in October," Gamble said.

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