May 16, 2011

Major Runway Rehabilitation Set to Begin at Reagan National
Schedule is optimized to minimize impact to flights

Beginning tonight, preparations will begin for the main north-south runway, Runway 1/19, at Reagan National Airport to be completely milled and re-surfaced for the first time since 1990. This scheduled rehabilitation, and other ongoing runway improvement projects, will necessitate nightly closures of the runway through 2011.

The project is carefully coordinated so the regular daily airline flights scheduled between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. can continue to operate on the runway during the project period. Runway 1/19 is scheduled to close each night between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., weather permitting, with nearby runway 15/33 remaining  open  for scheduled traffic.

The Airports Authority will work closely with the airlines serving Reagan National during these important projects to minimize disruptions to scheduled flights due to the closures of the runway.

Some major components of the Runway 1/19 improvement project include:

• Replacing the Runway 1/19 centerline lighting system
• Milling and re-surfacing the entire 6,869-foot asphalt runway
• Milling and re-surfacing large portions of a taxiway near Runway 1/19
• Shifting one runway safety area 300 feet to the south
• Replacing the runway approach light pier in the Potomac River
• Replacing the runway approach light system

Passengers can visit www.mwaa.com/reagan under “What’s New” for updates regarding the progress and impact of the runway project.