Roseburg Airport Expansion Underway

ROSEBURG, Ore. – A $2.5 million project to extend a key taxiway at Roseburg Regional Airport is underway -- realizing a City dream of airport expansion and safety improvement. A notice was sent in April to notify airmen and hangar tenants the runway would be closed from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays through Thursday, May 8. The useable part of the runway is temporarily shortened, with a “reduced declared distance,” and will return to its normal useable length when the project is completed. About 300 feet of sidewalk and bike lanes along Aviation Drive are currently closed, but both roadway lanes will remain open throughout the project except for brief, intermittent closures during concrete pouring. The project will reconfigure Taxiway A and extend the taxiway north about 400 feet to match the length of a runway that was extended in 2012 and to meet Federal Aviation Administration design standards so planes no longer need to “back-taxi” on the runway. Back-taxiing, or backtracking, means a plane taxis on the runway-in-use in a direction opposite to that of take-off or landing. “This extension was designed with the runway extension in 2011, but because of lack of funding, it was not constructed at that time,” said Roseburg Public Works Director Ryan Herinckx. “This will eliminate a major safety issue with planes back-taxiing on the runway.” The City won $2,285,896.63 in FAA grants and a Connect Oregon grant for $172,222 from the Oregon Department of Transportation. The City contributed $82,618.72 in matching funds from the Airport Capital Improvement Fund. The project will include construction of an extended taxiway connector A-1; removal of existing taxiway connector A-2; renaming five taxiway connectors; construction of a retaining wall and jet-blast fence; pavement underdrain installation; markings; and taxiway lighting and signage. A small amount fencing will be replaced as part of this project. Since contractor Knife River Materials began work on Monday, April 14, the existing taxiway connector known as A-2 has been removed and temporary markings for the shortened runway length have been installed. In addition, Knife River has removed existing grass and other vegetation and begun installing subgrade for the taxiway extension. They’ve also removed sidewalk along Aviation Drive to prepare for installation of a blast fence and concrete retaining wall to prevent jet blast from blowing debris onto Aviation Drive. The sidewalk is expected to be reinstalled in June. Architectural and engineering firm Mead & Hunt submitted design drawings to the Federal Aviation Administration for review, revised the drawings based on FAA comments and the drawings won FAA approval. The project was put out for bid in April 2024. Knife River Materials of Roseburg was the low bidder. The airport project is expected to be completed by Sunday, July 27. Via City of Roseburg