Airport runway, taxiway to be repaved

The Eunice Airport will use a $851,846 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to resurface the airport’s runway and taxiway.
“The runway is in fair shape right now,” said Drew Miller, airport manager. “The runway and taxiway were overlaid 20 years ago, and 10 years ago it had a crack coat, recoat and seal coat. In FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) standards, the life of asphalt is 20 years as long as it is rehabilitated after 10 years. Those 10 years are up, and it’s time for a total redo.”
Miller is waiting on a notification from the FAA, and once that is received, work will begin on the project in about 30 days. The work will take about 45 days to complete, and during that time, the airport will be closed to air traffic.
The grant will fund about 90 to 95 percent of the work, he said, and the rest of the money for the work will come from the state.
The grant was one of several awarded to support local and regional airports in South Louisiana.
“Louisiana’s regional airports support local businesses and keep our state competitive,” said U.S. Rep. Charles W. Boustany (R-Lafayette) in a news release. “This grant funding will allow these airports to perform much-needed maintenance to their facilities, ensuring Louisiana has a high-functioning airport infrastructure supporting job creation in our communities.”
The runway and taxiway project at the Eunice airport is the top priority in the airport’s five year capital improvement plan. Two inches will be milled off the asphalt and replaced with FAA grade asphalt, and the runway and taxiway will also be repainted. The Le Gros Memorial Airport in Crowley will also receive a grant in the amount of $137,700 to rehabilitate its apron and update the Airport Master Plan Study.
The airport opened in the mid 1960s, and the volume of traffic changes constantly.
“It can go from none to a lot,” Miller said. “Some crop dusters will make 30 to 40 landings here a day with their work.”
Next year’s top project at the airport will be the building of a new terminal, which will be 100 percent funded by the state Department of Transportation and Development Aviation Division.