Ephrata Municipal Airport runway resurfaced

EPHRATA — A Big Bend Community College plane was first to land atop Ephrata Municipal Airport’s freshly resurfaced runway.

The runway was closed in August for resurfacing and reopened in December, said Port of Ephrata Manager Mike Wren.

Wren is also a Big Bend Community College trustee.

An additional layer of two inches of asphalt will be added to the runway when the weather improves, Wren said. Other slated improvements include additional approach lights, as well as runway and identifier lights.

The total cost of the project was about $4 million, including $3 million for construction and $1 million for engineering.

Grant money from the Federal Aviation Administration covered 95 percent of the project cost, Wren said. The Port of Ephrata and State Department of Transportation each contributed an additional 2.5 percent, or $100,000.

The project included a reduction of the runway length, from 6,700 feet to 5,500 feet, and a reduction of the runway width, from 150 feet to 75 feet.

Wren said the types of aircraft which utilize the airport can be accommodated at the reduced size.

He noted the final 2,700 feet of the runway was becoming cracked before the resurface work was done.

“It was just coming apart,” he said.

Last year, the airport built a new taxiway and prepared new connections to the runway, he said.

A Big Bend airplane was selected to land on the resurfaced runway before other aircraft because the college schedules training on the runway, and it is a good opportunity to highlight the aviation program, he said.

He noted the growth of the program at Big Bend helps ensure the airport’s viability. There are 50 more students this year when compared to 2007.

“The Ephrata Municipal Airport is an important element to our aviation program here at Big Bend,” stated aviation instructor Pete Hammer. “We were pleased to accept the invitation to be the first to land on the runway.”