Half Moon Bay Airport will close all air traffic starting next week for resurfacing and other improvements.
This was reported by San Mateo County, who specified that the airport will be closed from Monday, August 14, to Friday, August 18, so that workers can fill cracks, apply a sealant, and paint new markings on the runway pavement.
"Just like the street in front of your house, our runways wear out over time and need care," said Gretchen Kelly, airport manager for the county Department of Public Works, which operated the Half Moon Bay and San Carlos airports. “It's just that our ?street? it requires us to move some planes.”
While the airport will be closed to all air traffic, on-site businesses, including the Pilot Light Café in Half Moon Bay, will remain open during their regular business hours.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to maintain safe runways and taxiways and is funding 90 percent of the project's costs, which total approximately $13 million. The rest is covered by airport user and company fees.
Half Moon Bay Airport, built in 1942 for the US military, is home to around 80 aircraft and various aviation-related businesses. It also provides a number of emergency response services such as medical evacuation flights, security patrols, and Coast Guard maritime rescue operations.
Following work at Half Moon Bay, the San Carlos Airport will be closed from Monday, September 11 through Tuesday, October 11 to repair significant cracks in the edge of the pavement at the runway and taxiway connectors.
Maintenance work also includes stabilizing the soil on the indoor fields, improving drainage, replacing lighting, signs and other electrical equipment, and eventually sealing and repainting the tracks.
After the full closure, authorities specified that periodic taxiway closures or overnight closures may be necessary for up to 30 days, however, access to hangars and routes to and from the runway will remain open for daytime operations.
Businesses, including the Sky Kitchen restaurant, will remain open during construction, as will the control tower.
San Carlos Airport was built in 1948 and is home to approximately 500 aircraft and more than 25 aviation-related businesses. Last year, the airport generated more than 100,000 aircraft operations, half of which were business-related or revenue-generating. Like Half Moon Bay, the San Carlos Airport also provides emergency services.
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