A $256 million project on DTW primary runway starts April 1st
(FOX 2) - The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is getting a makeover to the tune of millions.
Beginning April 1, a $256 million project on DTW's 8,500-foot runway will kick off.
Funded through the FAA Airport Improvement Program as well as airport revenue bonds, the project is expected to be one of Michigan's largest over the next two years.
"Runway 3L/21R was the first runway constructed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in the 1950s," said Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Chad Newton in the press release. "The runway and taxiways have reached the end of their useful life."
The runway and its associated taxiways will be fully reconstructed. When the project is completed, crews will place an equivalent of 73 highway lane miles of new concrete.
"We will incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into this project, as we have in the past," said Deputy Director of Airfield Facilities Theresa Samosiuk, who is also the project manager in the press release. "We will be excavating 750,000 cubic yards of soil, as well as recycling the existing concrete. All excess soil and recycled concrete will remain onsite, diverting it from landfills and reducing truck emissions."
The project is expected to be completed November 2020.