The Paso Robles Airport runway is getting a facelift thanks to $594,055 in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“This is going to allow us to extend the lifetime of the runway, and by extension, the airport itself pretty significantly,” Paso Robles Airport Manager Mark Scandalis told New Times.
With this funding, he said, the city will be able to remove rubber from the airport runway, fill cracks, and repaint markings that have needed to be addressed. The city expects work to begin by mid-March and finish by April, with most construction done during airport off-hours to ensure it can maintain daily operations.
Paso Robles received the funding thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which President Joe Biden signed into effect in November 2021. Scandalis said this law helps fund FAA grants aimed at helping with airport improvement projects that can match 10 percent of the funds via internal budgets.
“That’s the FAA’s whole goal with these types of grants,” he said. “Find airports in need of funding like ours and help keep them modern and up-to-date.”
Scandalis said the airport plans to first remove the residual rubber left on the runway from landing aircrafts. After that, they will repaint portions of the runway to ensure better visibility and modern signage that aligns with FAA standards.
“It’s all part of our goal of keeping our airport up-to-date and safe,” he said. “Besides cleaning up the rubber and repainting, we are going to be filling in cracks along the entirety of the runway, and that will significantly improve the lifespan of the airport since water and other liquids will no longer wear them down or make them larger.”
Even with the half-million-dollar boost, the airport still has a long way to go, according to Scandalis. However, he expects these improvements to allow him and his staff to focus on their primary task: converting the airport into a spaceport.
In January, Paso Robles City Council unanimously voted to support an updated timeline and increase airport staff to speed up the airport’s transition into a spaceport. To get that spaceport license, however, Scandalis needs to submit an updated version of the city’s 20-year-old airport master plan.
“The master plan … is our next big project,” he said. “That’s going to be a big-time heavy endeavor, but with the council approval and funding for these smaller scale improvements, I am confident we can get it done sooner rather than later.” Δ
This article appears in Weddings 2024.
