CRQ Shutdown coming for repairs

One of the busiest general aviation airports in the nation will undertake a massive resurfacing of its runway and be closed down, but not until next spring.

The week long closures at McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Calif. will affect everything from fuel sales to car rentals to the lone airline that flies in each day, United Express.

However, county airport officials said they have decided to wait until next spring to start because of the seasonal rains that affect the area through March.

The shut down was initially proposed for late 2009 and then reset for early in the new year, but the construction work will officially not begin until April 25, project manager Michael Khoury said.

"In order to stick with (a schedule) that people can rely on, we moved it out of the rainy season," he said.

According to the local newspaper, the North County Times, the construction plans were reworked several times last year after local pilots and the owners of charter-plane companies expressed concerns. In fact, the plan was to close the the airport for a long multiweek stretch.

That idea was later rejected when airport users said they would prefer a series of short closures rather than one long period. San Diego County, which owns the  airport, ultimately settled on a schedule that calls for six closure periods, Khoury said.

The first five closures will each last seven days, with the first one beginning near midnight April 25 and will last until the early morning of May 2. The final closure will be June 27 through Aug. 13, but it will be a night time-only closure.

The plans call for the upper surface of the runway to be replaced, eliminating some sagging spots of pavement and other problems. The project is estimated to cost $10.2 million with most of the work being funded by the FAA, but the county is also contributing some money.

The county is also budgeting at least $100,000 for rental rebates to the various companies that lease space at the airport, the newspaper said. Businesses such as fuel sales companies and car rental companies are expected to receive rebates to compensate them for the loss of income during the closure periods, county officials have said.

Local pilots also are temporarily relocating their planes to nearby fields if space is available.

See the March issue of Pacific Flyer for the schedule.