PORT ANGELES — Heavy rainfall in October delayed construction of the new airport apron at William R. Fairchild International Airport, Port of Port Angeles commissioners were told.
Construction had been on schedule through Oct. 20, but heavy rain has saturated the soil, Jerry Ludke, airport and marina manager, told port commissioners Monday.
The construction management consultant, port staff and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have agreed the project needs to be put on hold until late spring or summer of next year, he said.
An airport apron is an area where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled or boarded.
The port will need to pay about $10,000 for project winterization, which includes placing a 5 percent shoulder slope on Taxiway Alpha, hydro-seeding disturbed areas, installing blue edge reflectors along the taxiway and periodically replacing batteries in barricades that mark the project boundary, he said.
Next year, the port will likely have to pay a little more than $10,000 for dewinterization costs, Ludke said, adding that it’s difficult to estimate those costs.
The port anticipates the extra costs will qualify for 90 percent FAA funding, but an FAA agreement hasn’t been finalized.
The port has paid Lakeside Industries, the contractor for the project, $628,120, or about 60 percent of the project total.
Over the summer, the port received $300,000 in funding from the city of Forks and the Port of Port Townsend for the project.
Each agency donated $150,000 of federal money for capital projects that otherwise would have been returned to the federal government.
The total cost of the project is about $1.45 million and is mostly grant-funded.
The FAA provided 95 percent of the funding ($1,303,323), while the state Department of Transportation provided 5 percent ($72,612), which the Port of Port Angeles matched ($72,201).
________
Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
