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May 10, 2001 By Janelle Holden Summer travelers who wanted to fly out of the Cortez Municipal Airport between Aug. 6 and Aug. 21 and couldn’t because of a runway re-surfacing project can now reschedule their flights for those 16 days. The runway re-surfacing project was canceled because the Federal Aviation Administration ran out of funding for such projects. "They made a lot of commitments to a lot of airports, and, quite frankly, we are not their highest priority," explained Russ Machen, assistant airport manager. The Cortez airport was originally given a $1.49 million grant for a $1.65 million project to replace the porous friction course on the runway. Runways like the one at the airport are supposed to be replaced every 10 years. Machen said that the current runway surface is 11 years old, but still in good condition. "We are ahead of the curve on the issue — it doesn’t have to be done this year," said Machen, who explained that the project was more preventive than anything else. But the runway could still be resurfaced this year. Machen said that if funding becomes available by June 15 the project could be rescheduled for September. "If we do not receive word by that date, it is dead this year," explained Machen. |
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal.
All rights reserved. |
