The Emporia Municipal Airport has a longer runway.
It’s not the 5,500- or 5,600-foot runway discussed for decades, but recent construction to extend the runway from 4,999 to 5,002 feet should have some benefits for the facility and the city as a whole — increased traffic among them, according to Public Works Director Dean Grant. He says pilots of smaller planes often look for runways that are at least 5,000 feet.
The longer runway will offer added benefits for pilots as well.
The work to extend the runway was part of a larger project, which included new LED lights, updated signage and a new wind cone. It took over two months to get the airport back to full operations.
Earlier this year, Kansas Airport Improvement Program announced a $75,000 grant for paving materials so the airport’s main runway can extend from 4,999 feet to 5,002 feet. Last year, the federal government announced a better than $700,000 grant for a new visual guidance system and navigation aids, along with rebuilt guidance signs and new runway lighting. That followed $13,000 strictly for COVID-19 relief and several state and federal grants for improvements in 2020.
