JFK Closes Runway For Major Rehab
By DOMENICK RAFTER
The longest and busiest runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport shut down March 1 for at least four months to be widened and repaved, and that may mean more delays and cut service for passengers using the already delay-plagued airport.Runway 13R-31L, commonly known as the Bay Runway because it runs parallel to Jamaica Bay, will be widened from 150 feet to 200 feet to handle larger planes, such as the behemoth Airbus A380, and repaved with concrete, rather than asphalt, which will increase its durability and lifespan.
The runway’s lighting system will also be revamped. At greater than 14,000 feet long, the runway is already one of the longest commercial landing strips in the world, and serves as one of many backup landing spots for the Space Shuttle along the East Coast. The runway served about 30 percent of the airport’s total traffic, and that traffic will now be funneled onto the airports three other runways, one of which intersects the Bay Runway. The construction will also lead to some changes in flight patterns.
The $376 million construction project is slated to be completed in July, meaning it will impact at least the first month of the busy summer travel season, and bad weather could cause delays that could push the project longer. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the number of flights arriving and departing JFK would be cut by 20 percent.
Queens-based JetBlue, which uses JFK as its hub, said it only expects “operational changes” and will reduce its number of flights by about 10 percent. JetBlue already plans its schedule to avoid high traffic times, usually early in the morning and late in the afternoon. American Airlines, which operates a major international hub at JFK, plans to keep its current number of flights the same, but is holding off a planned increase in the number of flights into and out of the airport.
Airlines have had plenty of time to adjust to the changes the project will make to airport traffic. The project was announced almost a year ago. Gov. David Paterson said the delays would be worth it as the project is expected to support 2,500 much needed jobs for the area and will reduce delays at the airport once completed in the summer.
Reach Reporter Domenick Rafter at drafter@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 125.