El Toro : Marine Runway Will Be Closed Several Weeks

The main runway at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station will be closed for resurfacing beginning Monday, diverting aircraft over the next several weeks to the northeast runway, base officials announced Friday.

The transition could mean slight increases in jet noise for some residents in Irvine, but the disruption “will be very minimal,” said Col. Jerry Shelton, community relations officer.

The resurfacing is expected to take about three weeks.

An estimated 100 aircraft per day normally use the main runway, often making several practice landings each, but Shelton said air traffic is at a reduced level now because two squadrons--representing a total of 24 jets--are temporarily deployed elsewhere.

The resurfacing is designed to smooth out roughness in the runway pavement that has made it difficult for aircraft to hook onto the steel cable normally used to “trap” aircraft and bring them to a quick halt. Federal officials have temporarily decertified the runway for landings because of the deficiencies, Shelton said.

The project is not related to a long-range, $12-million plan to extend the runway directly adjacent to the main runway by an additional 1,000 feet or more. That project, still under study, will not be completed until the early 1990s, Shelton said.