Runway to be reconstructed at Great Bend Municipal Airport. The blue line marks the FAA approved portion and the yellow line marks the state requested portion for financial help.
When an estimated budget was constructed in November of 2017, the City of Great Bend believed repairing the runway at the Great Bend Municipal Airport was going to cost $1.1 million for the City’s share, and more than $11.1 million total. Airport Manager Martin Miller told the Great Bend City Council the city’s share will be well under that estimate, down to $837,133.
The Council approved the Federal Aviation Administration’s offer of funding 90 percent of 5,500 feet of the primary runway 17/35.
Miller says the replacement project will include asphalt, constructed by Venture Corporation.
Martin Miller Audio
The runway will include 5 inches of asphalt, on top of 10 inches of subgrades, on top of one foot of stabilized soil. Four major general contractors had plans for the job, with Venture being selected. Burns & McDonnell was chosen to handle the supervision of the project.
Miller expected the replacement to get started next spring with 310 days of contracted time to finish the job. The construction could hurt traffic coming in and out of Great Bend, but Miller says there will always be one runway option open during the process.
Martin Miller Audio
The total length of the runway is 7,851 feet, with the remaining 2,351 not covered by the FAA grant planned to come from Kansas Department of Transportation assistance. KDOT would cover 90 percent of the $550,102 of the northern portion, costing the City $55,010.
The effort to preserve the length of the runway will keep Great Bend’s runway one of the longest in the state.
In other Great Bend City Council news from Sept. 4…
– Hank Denning with the SRCA Dragstrip addressed the council regarding establishing a maintenance fund to replace the dragstrip. Denning expected to get two more years of use out of the current track that was placed in 2000. The Council and administration said they will look into the idea.
– Kid’s Ag Day on Wednesday has been moved to the Great Bend Expo Complex because of the rain.
– City Administrator Kendal Francis stated he will host “Kendal’s Coffee” sessions where he will be available to the public to talk with him about concerns or thoughts on the city. The first coffee session is scheduled for October 12 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Perk’s Coffee Shop. Francis expected to host these gatherings quarterly throughout the year.
– The Council voted 4-3 to approve two additional paid holidays for employees (adding Christmas Eve and Presidents Day) and increased structure for vacation days.