PORT ANGELES — Repaving of the passenger loading area began this week at William R. Fairchild International Airport and is expected to last through Aug. 8.
“The project has really taken off,” said Airport Manager Jeff Robb.
“The pavement removal should be finished today. Then site grading will last Thursday and Friday.”
Robb said there’s a good chance that the contractor, Lakeside Industries of Port Angeles, will begin paving next Wednesday or maybe earlier.
“The following Monday (Aug. 8), we should be back on the new pavement and it will be business as usual,” Robb said.
Loading area moves
During the repaving project, the passenger loading area behind the airport terminal has moved about 300 feet to the west, Robb said.
Passengers flying on Kenmore Air Express flights to Seattle will check in as usual and will have a short walk to the temporary loading area, he said.
“If people need assistance, we’ll put them in a vehicle and drive them over to the plane,” Robb said.
Along with new pavement, the passenger loading area’s incline also will be reduced, which will allow aircraft easier access to and from the terminal building, he said.
The repaving is the first major repair to the airport’s passenger loading area since the terminal was built in 1979.
Port commissioners awarded the project contract June 27 to Lakeside Industries for $634,836.
The project is being funded by a 95 percent grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
