Myrtle Beach airport runway rehab completion date pushed back to June

Cold, wet weather has delayed the $20 million runway rehabilitation project at Myrtle Beach International Airport from later this month until the start of June.

The delays aren’t expected to interfere with flights coming in and out of MYR during the kick off of the busy summer season, said Kirk Lovell, assistant director of airports.

“Due to the cold temperatures experienced during the previous months and on-going rain in the Grand Strand area, the runway rehabilitation project time line at Myrtle Beach International Airport has been extended,” Lovell said. “The original project end-date was slated for April 26, but as a result of adverse weather the project is now scheduled to be completed on June 8.”

Lovell also said the delays will not impact the $20 million price tag originally pegged for the project.

“Despite the runway rehabilitation project time line being extended due to adverse weather conditions the project remains on budget,” Lovell said.

Construction on MYR’s lone 9,500-foot runway began in August and has a 20-year life expectancy. The project will bring the runway up to code on its surfaces, some of which remain from its military airport days.

The project was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Horry County Department of Airport’s airport fund, which does not include tax money.

The runway paving was completed earlier this month and paving the runway taxi-way connectors should be done by Monday, Lovell said.

The edge lights along the runway have been commissioned and the remaining electrical will be complete within two weeks, he said.

The electrical and pavement work have caused some complications off-season.

In November, temporary asphalt used to connect the old and new planned runway was to blame for delays and cancellations of flights at the airport. Contractors used asphalt that was removed and replaced daily during construction.

The closure, coupled with overcast weather, caused hours-long delays for commuters.

It was the second closure caused by the runway rehab work in less than a month.

On Oct. 21, an outage of runway lights at the airport was attributed to the renovation project.

The grooving of the runway should be done by late May and the runway should be painted shortly after that.

Lovell said contractors will begin disassembling and removing runway rehabilitation project equipment from the airport when the painting is complete.

Lovell has said there is a clause in the contract that holds the contractor accountable for delays in the overall project, and that “at the end of the construction project the Department of Airports and contractor will review the project.”

Brand Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber knew that there may be some explaining to do about the construction if the weather became an issue.

“We understood early on that the timeframe and other constraints on this project left little margin for error, but ultimately Mother Nature won out,” Dean said. “Thus far, the impact on tourists has been limited to a few isolated problems, but the rehab timeline extension will likely cause some schedule changes with at least one airline in the next few weeks.”

Dean said the chamber has been pleased with the progress on the airport, which brings in thousands of tourists annually to the Grand Strand.

“The revised scheduled published by the airport should allow for continued service with limited disruptions and we are prepared to work closely with the airlines and their passengers to iron out any scheduling issues,” Dean said.

This story was originally published April 16, 2015 at 9:44 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach airport runway rehab completion date pushed back to June."