Heavy Jets Cracking Airport Runway

The weight of commercial jets is cracking one of John Wayne Airport’s two runways, forcing county and federal officials to spend millions of dollars to reconstruct and strengthen the strip.

The runway was designed to handle much lighter private planes. But as the airport continues to expand commercial operations, airliners weighing as much as 300,000 pounds are queuing up in long lines on the runway, before taxiing over to the larger runway for takeoff.

“The weight of these planes is causing stress on the concrete--you can see cracking at the surface,” said Kathleen Campini Chambers, an airport spokeswoman. “If we don’t do something, the pavement is going to fail.”

As many as 20 jets line up along the cracking airstrip on weekday mornings, waiting for clearance from the control tower for takeoff.

Unlike most other airports, John Wayne is prohibited under a 1985 lawsuit settlement from operating before 7 a.m., which is the prime departure time for flights bound for San Jose, Oakland, Phoenix and elsewhere in the region.

“Since we have this curfew, 7 a.m. is when all the airlines want to depart. It’s really the peak time for us,” Chambers said. “There is no other place to have the planes queue up.”

Commercial jets have been using the general aviation runway to await takeoff since 1990. But in the intervening years, the number of passengers using John Wayne Airport annually has jumped from 4.5 million to more than 7 million and the number of takeoffs and landings has increased significantly.

Officials recently began noticing fissures and cracks developing on the concrete surface of the runway. No airplane mishaps have been reported, but Chambers said corrective work is needed to prevent further damage and to make sure the jets have a smooth surface on which to travel.

Originally, the county planned to temporarily close the strip and do the reconstruction work later this year. But officials determined that the work could be hampered by the heavy rains predicted this winter, so the job is now scheduled to occur next spring.

Workers will rebuild and widen the runway to accommodate planes up to 300,000 pounds as well as make other improvements. The Federal Aviation Administration will pay 80% of the cost, with John Wayne Airport covering the rest through its operating fund.

In the 1980s, the airport estimated the costs of a larger runway reconfiguration to be $12 million. But officials said the cost of this project will be far less--about $2.5 million.

The runway was last rehabilitated in 1984, and officials expected the pavement job to last 20 years. At the time, however, the airport didn’t anticipate using the strip for commercial jets, Chambers said.

“I don’t believe they considered the types of uses we now have with that runway,” she added. “The [commercial jets] are pretty darn heavy. They’ve shortened the runway’s life.”

The strengthening process will involve regrading the runway area and adding a thicker layer of pavement.

The 7 a.m. flight curfew was part of a settlement to a noise lawsuit filed by Newport Beach residents who live under John Wayne’s flight path.

The settlement allows the airport to serve no more than 8.4 million passengers a year through 2005.