Bangor airport postpones temporary closure for runway repaving

The Bangor International Airport postponed a portion of a multimillion dollar project that will restrict air traffic for several weeks.

The airport was scheduled to close its entire runway, halting all air traffic, from 8 a.m. Monday to 3 p.m. Wednesday this week so the airport’s entire 11,440-foot-long runway can be repaved.

The Monday through Wednesday closure period was scheduled to repeat every week for four weeks until May 24, totaling 12 days when air traffic to and from the airport will be paused.

However, the airport had to push back the planned closure period while it “waits for final approval of a portion of the plan to minimize the impact to the airport, stakeholders, tenants and partners,” said Aimee Thibodeau, a spokesperson for the airport.

Crews plan to move forward with construction as soon as possible, but it’s unknown when that will be. The delay will not cancel any flights, as no flights were scheduled during the closure. The airport also will not extend the closure period to compensate for the delay, Thibodeau said.

While no commercial flights were scheduled during the anticipated closure time this week, the runway remains open to military operations, private flights and Lifeflight, Thibodeau said.

“We realize that there is never a convenient time for runway closures or construction projects to take place, but our goal is to minimize the impact to passengers and tenants while making a significant investment in the airport’s future,” Jose Saavedra, airport director, wrote in a March 18 statement.

The closure is part of two major renovation projects at the airport that are intended to improve passenger experience and breathe new life into the facility’s single runway, which is reaching the end of its useful life. Runways usually need to be redone every 15 to 20 years, according to the airport.

Though the airport doesn’t currently offer any international flights, its long runway is used for military operations and is a popular refueling spot for international flights headed into or out of the U.S. The airport has also been known to receive several flights diverted due to unruly passengers or terrorist threats.

The runway length will be shortened from May 29 through August 30 as part of the renovation project, but that change isn’t expected to impact air traffic.

The $45 million project is funded by $27.4 million from the FAA, $15.9 million from the Maine Air National Guard, and the Maine Department of Transportation and the airport each chipped in about $1.5 million.

No taxpayer dollars contributed to the project because the airport is self-sustaining, as it operates as an enterprise fund within the city.

Aside from paving, the airport is renovating and replacing a terminal connector that links the domestic and international terminal and adds more gate space.

The $14.2 million project is federally funded through the bipartisan infrastructure law.

The project will come at a time when the airport has reported a 30 percent rise in passenger traffic over the last five years, pointing to a need for more space and amenities after the airport’s security area.

Construction on the terminal connector is slated to continue over the next 18 months, according to the airport.