Manassas airport continues runway extension, design work

Airport continues runway extension, design work

The Manassas Regional Airport has been in the design phase of a runway extension project.

The final design work is expected to be completed in January.

A 500-foot extension will be added to the south end of Runway 16L-34R. Construction is expected to begin in July 2012.

The final length of the runway will be 6,200 feet. Project components in­clude substantial grad­ing, drainage improve­ments, new pavement extensions, blast pad and airfield lighting.

“The project really does three things,” explains Nick Patterson, design engineer with Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc. “The runway extension will accommodate the exist­ing and future aircraft at Manassas and market it­self to more potential us­ers of the airport.

“Two, the bridge wid­enings will enhance the safety at the airport and bring to compliance with FAA regulations. Three, the navigational aid relo­cation will place the local­izer at a standard location as required by the FAA, increasing the effective runway length and lower­ing the minimum descent altitude for pilots.” Airport Director Juan Rivera says, “If you have a $20 million airplane and you want to go coast to coast, the longer runway will maximize that capa­bility. Besides safety in inclement weather, there is some noise benefit if you’re headed north, since you’ll be crossing over populated areas at a higher altitude.”

Airport tenant Chantilly Air is looking forward to the change.

“The runway extension will certainly increase our usability of the airport, especially during inclem­ent weather operations, which typically require a longer runway for all air­craft,” said Tim Sullivan, chief operating officer of Chantilly Air. “Having the longer runway will open the airport up to more opportunities that would typically go to Dulles Airport.”

For fixed base operators (FBOs) that sell fuel and store aircraft at Manas­sas Regional Airport, “the runway extension will attract more private aircraft owners to base their aircraft here,” said APP Jet Center General Manager Quinn Red­den. “The extension will increase the number of non-stop flights coast-to­coast and overseas, bring­ing us more fuel sales.”

The airport also is in the process of design­ing a 500-foot extension to Taxiway Bravo 1 and realigning Taxiway Kilo, which includes relocation of the localizer antenna.

The design engineers for this project are Delta Airport Consultants. The design phase should be completed by February 2012, with construction beginning in 2013.