DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Reconstruction of the runway at Abrams Municipal Airport in Grand Ledge isn’t only making it safer for takeoffs and landings. Mayor Thom Sowle said it’s also laying the groundwork for possible future expansion.
The Abrams Municipal Airport in Grand Ledge is one of the busiest general utility airports in Michigan, according Sowle, and the airport has been working on big projects to accommodate the traffic they see.
Sowle said the airport is heavily used by the Michigan National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility and leases 21 hangars, housing many privately owned single-engine planes.
Last year, the airport completed a $1.5 million project, resurfacing the 3,200-foot asphalt and upgrading the runway lighting. Ninety percent of it was paid through federal funding.
A new project is anticipated to start in early September to pulverize and resurface the parallel taxiway and apron "to make the runway more accessible. Easier to taxi up to. Easier to park planes off of," Sowle said.
Sowle said the project will help them manage the traffic they have and offer them more flexibility.
"Will that mean we'll able to accommodate more take-offs and landings, certainly. What will it mean to the airport? All of our hangars right now for private airplanes are full," he said. "Perhaps it would help us to build some more hangars and increase the size of the airport."
Sowle said the projects were necessary, adding a runway and taxiway like a roadway has wear and tear.
"When you're taking off and landing in an airplane, it's even more important to have a good runway underneath you," said Sowle.
The taxiway should be complete by next year.
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