Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday will reopen a closed runway that has contributed to weeks of delays and chaos at the travel hub.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will lead a news conference from the airport Monday to mark the runway’s reopening.
Runway 4L-22R — which is 11,000 feet long — has been undergoing “planned rehabilitation” after showing “significant signs of wear” and has now been deemed safe and up to the Federal Aviation Administration’s standards, according to a release from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark Airport.
It had last been rehabilitated in 2014, and runways are typically updated about every 10 years, the statement said.
According to the release, the $121 million project began in early March and was set to be finished on June 15. The project included “milling and paving the runway surface, updating lighting, improving airfield signs with LED lighting, installing new underground electrical infrastructure, and implementing drainage improvements.”
Before it was fully shut down on April 15, the runway was closed on nights and weekends to accommodate the construction schedule. To ensure the runway is fully revamped by the end of the year, the Port Authority said it will continue to close on weeknights and again on weekends at the end of the year.
However, Monday’s reopening will allow “regular runway operations to resume,” the statement said. During runway 4L-22R’s planned future closures, two other runways at the airport will remain fully operational.
“As we approach the busy summer travel season, this key milestone puts us on a path to further reducing congestion, enhancing safety, and ensuring a seamless travel experience,” Duffy said in the Port Authority statement. “With the runway completed, we’ll continue our work to harden the telecoms infrastructure and improving the staffing pipeline for the airspace.”
The planned runway construction was not the only reason passengers flying in and out of Newark have faced delays and cancelations this spring.
Air traffic controllers serving the airport have experienced a number of communications blackouts while directing planes in the area in recent months due to equipment failures, prompting the FAA on May 20 to reduce the number of flights to and from Newark until the planned runway construction was complete.
“Our goal is to relieve the substantial inconvenience to the traveling public from excessive flight delays due to construction, staffing challenges, and recent equipment issues, which magnify as they spread through the National Airspace System,” acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau said at the time of the announcement.
