Mount Pleasant airport reconstruction faces setbacks

A $394,000 reconstruction project on the Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport’s West ramp is underway.

Roger Rousse, director of public works, said the Federal Aviation Association will pay for $370,000, while the Michigan Department of Transportation and the City of Mount Pleasant will each pay $12,000.

Airport Volunteer Coordinator Donna Husted Kriss said over the years the asphalt on the runway began to crack, letting in water under the asphalt that was washing the silica out of the sand.

She said this leads to divots on the ramp that may catch and break off a plane’s front wheel.

“We have to protect the pilot, the crew and the passengers,” she said.

Kriss said with 250 to 300 jets using the airport each year, plus roughly 1,000 smaller planes that come and go, the old ramp out used its usefulness.

“When it was built we didn’t have the traffic we do now,” she said.

Kriss and Airport Manager Jon Benzinger said the divots on the old ramp were so bad the FAA said it had to be reconstructed this year.

“Everything out here has a life expectancy,” Benzinger said. “Ramps last about 15 years, this one has been here about 20.”

Construction crews came in to deconstruct the old ramp and remove three feet of preexisting sand. From there they brought in new sand; however, it did not meet the FAA’s standards.

Kriss said there must be a certain type of sand used on ramps in order to withstand the weight and speed of jets.

The sand deficit is leading to setbacks in time and profit. Kriss said when construction began Sept. 4 the tentative end date was Sept. 29. However, they have already lost about a week of construction time.

Without the west ramp, there will also be revenue setbacks because there will be lower fuel sales.

Benzinger said fuel can still be obtained, but the reconstruction is complicating things.

“We’ll lose about a week or two worth of revenue,” Kriss said. “We want to get it done as soon as possible.”

After the ramp is completed, Rousse said more work is planned for the airport.

“This project is part of an ongoing capital improvement plan for the airport,” Rousse said. “The next capital project is the updating of the Airport Layout Plan, a project to develop a long-term vision for the airport and its facilities.”