Men gather around a single-engine plane, which was the first to land at the newly opened Mackinac Island airstrip June 29, 1934. The grass runway was paved in the early 1960s. It was repaved in 1978 and then again in 1988. (Photograph courtesy of Mackinac State Historic Parks) The earliest the rehabilitation of the Mackinac Island Airport runway will begin in 2010, just after Labor Day, according to the Mackinac Island State Park Commission. When it does, the airport is expected to be closed for as long as 2.5 months.

The Commission recently updated a required layout plan that includes scaled drawings of the proposed improvements to the runway and is awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Bureau of Aeronautics of Michigan Department of Transportation. Once the Commission receives its necessary approval, it will be able to apply for federal funding for the project, which is expected to cost $4 million to $5 million.

Three major improvements include removing a hump in the middle of the paved runway and building up each end of the airport to improve pilots' line of sight, moving the runway 65 feet from the west side of a fence to comply with federal aviation safety standards, and repairing sinkholes from the runway.

A sinkhole was repaired Wednesday, December 10. It was the second one discovered in the past five years.

The last time the runway was repaved was in 1988.

"The runway is deteriorating badly," said Phil Porter, director at Mackinac State Historic Parks.

The Commission's layout plan, which is supposed to be updated every five years but hasn't been updated since 1988, allows the Commission to comply with Federal Aviation Administration standards and be eligible for federal grants.

The Park Commission initially thought the cost would be around $2 million to resurface the runway, but safety issues escalated that to $6 million, which put the project on hold until all of the funding can be secured.

A December 18 public hearing at the Island airport terminal was attended by about a dozen people, whose main concerns were safety issues regarding the runway that the proposed repairs would resolve and the closing of the airport while construction is underway.

Mr. Porter said that a September and October closing will be the quietest time of the year and the boats will still be running then.

People flying to Mackinac Island will have to land in St. Ignace or Mackinaw City during the time Island facility is closed.

Great Lakes Air, which operates from the Mackinac County Airport in St. Ignace, attributes more than 90% of its business to serving Mackinac Island, with between 8,500 to 10,000 trips taken between St. Ignace and Mackinac Island each year.

Great Lakes Air operator Paul Fullerton said his business will do its best to accommodate Island travelers and offer shuttle service between the airport and boat docks in St. Ignace.

"It's still going to be a loss of business, but how else are you supposed to do it?" asked Mr. Fullerton. "It'll be a better airport when it's done, and safer for everybody."

Plans for emergency medical evacuation via helicopter or by escort using the services of the U.S. Coast Guard are underway.

URS Corporation, an engineering and planning company based in Grand Rapids, will be overseeing the enginnering plans, said Mr. Porter.

The Commission's airport layout plan is not a blueprint for construction but merely suggestions proposed by the Commission as to how to improve the runway, said Mr. Porter. Actual construction plans will be drawn once funding is secured.

Plans for construction in 2010 may be altered, depending whether the Commission can secure enough funding in time, a feat that may prove challenging, considering the national recession.

"There's a lot of ifs out there about the availability of federal money," said Mr. Porter, "but we need to proceed this way with the expectation that the money will be there, as it has been in the past."