KALISPELL — Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell has implemented phased weekday closures throughout July as it works on its runway rehabilitation project.
WATCH: Kalispell airport runway rehab wraps, full flights return Friday
The project is on schedule, with the airport set to fully reopen on Friday.
“It’s been exactly what we had hoped for in July, exactly what we planned for in this project,” said Glacier Park International Airport Director Rob Ratkowski.
Ratkowski said the weather has been favorable for around-the-clock midweek construction on the runway rehabilitation project.
“We only lost about 4 hours of production due to that rain we had a few weeks ago, and that’s right around 1% of our project time, so that is exactly what we were hoping for,” added Ratkowski.
During each 88-hour midweek closure, Ratkowski said crews have worked tirelessly to replace around 31 acres of pavement.
“That’s more than two weeks of work being done in 3-and-a-half days,” said Ratkowski.
Ratkowski said the airport remained fully operational on weekends in July, allowing it to operate 60% of its regular summer flights.
He said the new runway will remain serviceable for the next 15 to 20 years, with full-time operations returning to normal on Friday.
“We had no option other than to do this project; the pavement was starting to show signs of distress, it was deteriorating, it was absolutely time to do it,” said Ratkowski.
