WILMINGTON—The east-west taxiway system at Wilmington International Airport is getting a $4.5 million upgrade, largely funded through a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant.
Airport officials have temporarily closed runway 6-24 because of construction in the runway “safety area,” Wilmington International Airport Deputy Director Julie Wilsey said.
One runway at ILM remains open, Wilsey said.
The $4.5 million taxiway improvement project involves paving the shoulders and installing new, energy-efficient LED taxiway lights on the airport’s east-west taxiway system.
Wilsey said officials closed runway 6-24 on Nov. 28, and work is expected to be completed by Dec. 11.
“We coordinated with both Air Traffic Control tower and our tenants, and scheduled the construction during a time that will not affect operations. We will have the second runway open before the Christmas rush starts. We’re operating as usual. We have two runways, and the other runway is open for traffic,” she said.
The FAA grant was for $4.05 million, and required a 5 percent local match and 5 percent state match.
The state match was awarded through the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s aviation division, while the local match was funded through the New Hanover County Airport Authority.
Barnhill Construction Co. was the low bidder on the project, and was awarded the construction contract.
“One other good thing, we’re putting in the LED taxiway lights. That’s relatively new technology, and it’s a brighter fixture. New LED taxiway lights will be brighter so pilots can seem them better. They’re also more efficient to operate, which will help us reduce our lighting cost on the airfield,” Wilsey said.
Several other airports, such as Raleigh-Durham International Airport, have already converted to LED taxiway lights, Wilsey said.
“We will save enough money in three months to pay for our 5 percent match on these lights. It’s a very exciting opportunity, and a lot of airports are trying to get the grants to do the conversion,” Wilsey said.
For more flight information visit the Wilmington International Airport website.
