BWI runway to close temporarily for $84 million repaving effort

A major runway at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is temporarily closing next week as construction crews kick-start tarmac rehabilitation.

For 11 weeks, the $84 million project will shut down one of two runways that handle arrivals and departures of commercial flights at BWI. It will also require overnight closures of the airport’s other commercial runway for the majority of that time to accommodate work at the intersection of the two runways.

But fret not, summer traveler. Airport officials say it shouldn’t impact airline operations in and out of Baltimore’s self-described “easy come, easy go” airport.

The work, slated to begin July 22 and wrap Oct. 8, includes milling and repaving a nearly two-mile strip of tarmac and upgrading the runway’s electrical system with modern LED lighting. The last time the runway underwent major rehabilitation work was in 2012.

“This runway rehabilitation project will help ensure the long-term safety, reliability and operational efficiency of the airport,” Shannetta Griffin, the Maryland Aviation Administration’s executive director and CEO, said in a statement Wednesday.

The prospect of cutting an airport’s runway capacity in half during summer travel season is daunting. But in response to a question about the closure’s impact on airport operations, BWI spokesperson Jonathan Dean wrote that “we do not expect a significant change in the number of airline operations during the construction.”

BWI’s busiest day so far this year was June 17, when it handled 692 arrivals and departures, a small decline from previous years, according to FlightAware.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced a $62 million grant earlier this month to help fund the tarmac improvements at BWI, with state funds covering the rest.