Major Newark Runway Closing for 10 Days

Newark’s primary runway will be closed for 10 days as the airport wraps up a $97 million improvement project.

Passengers who frequent Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) can expect to see fewer flights into and out of the airport over the next several days while it completes the final stage of a $97 million improvement project.

Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said EWR’s primary runway, 4L-22R, will close on Saturday, September 20, and remain closed for 10 days while renovations are finalized. Among the improvements coming to 4L-22R are complete grooving and the installation of pavement lights.

During the closure, flights will be diverted to EWR’s two other runways. This will result in aircraft being rerouted, meaning more aircraft will be flying over the Jersey City and Bayonne communities, according to a report from the Asbury Park Press.

To help mitigate the expected increase in noise during the 10-day closure, primarily from United Airlines flights, Marsico says the agency has been working with airlines and the FAA.

“We’ll see flights cut back by about 15 percent,” Marsico told FlyerTalk. He added that September is one of the slower travel months and that the impact should be minimal. He also said that EWR officials have been coordinating the project timeline with FAA and airline officials for the past year, so the schedules have taken this reduction into consideration.

“It’s really short-term pain for longer term gain,” Marsico said. “It’s work that has to be done.”

The first phase of the project, which was completed last spring, forced the runway to close for 45 days. Flights were reduced during that period in order to mitigate the impact on air traffic. Flights were also rerouted over Staten Island during that time, and Marsico said the airport received “very few” complaints from the community.

[Photo: iStock]