Remaking of Charleston International Airport's main runway put on hold

Image by Flickr user Official U.S. Air Force Updates are at the bottom:

As the nine-month rebuilding of the Charleston International Airport's main runway approaches early next year, concerns over the landing of planes have grown larger.

Not only will planes be re-routed to the recently spruced up shorter runway (7,000 vs. 9,000 feet) but the shorter runway does not have directional transmitters to help planes land — smomething that is particularly critical during low cloud cover.

It's an issue that could lead to plains being rerouted to other airports when such fickle weather conditions roll in.

At the center of this debate over the $50 million work being paid for by the military is that the runway is the property of the Charleston Air Force Base, and the military has no need of the transmitters and no desire to bankroll them.

Find out about the debate over at The Post and Courier's report here.

Update February 21: The $50 million project to repave the Charleston International Airport runway has been postponed.

Work to repair portions of the main runway, which were built during the 1940s, was expected to begin on March 1. However, a Joint Base Charleston spokesman relayed to The Post and Courier that he doesn't have "a forecasted start time," but the work is expected to start this year.

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