http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=3D4652 Airport reopens on time By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyo. Date: June 1, 2009 The Jackson Hole Airport reopened Sunday as scheduled after a runway resurfacing project shut it down last week. Airport representative Kelly Miller said the first flight came in just after 12:30 p.m. All the commercial airlines except Delta resumed their normal flight schedules Sunday. Delta opted to wait until Thursday to resume operation in Jackson because of concerns weather or other problems might delay the construction and, therefore, the reopening. >From May 4, when work on the runway began, until 6 p.m. May 25, when the airport closed, crews with HK Contractors Inc. worked at night to grind off strips of pavement down the length of the runway, sweep the debris, heat the ground surface and repave the strip before flights began to arrive the next morning. Once the base layer was finished, the crews halted work until the evening of the 25th to finish the top coat, a =93porous friction=94 runway surface. Crews were then scheduled to paint lines on the runway. Jackson Hole Airport subsidized shuttle service to and from Idaho Falls, Idaho, for the roughly 600 passengers affected by the closure. Even with the shuttle service, some groups canceled trips to Jackson because of the closure, the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce reported. The chamber also cited the closure as one of the possible reasons contributing to a large drop in lodging reservations over the weekend. The life expectancy for a porous friction runway surface is between eight and 12 years. The previous surface is about nine years old. Officials say freeze-thaw cycles last winter may have accelerated the shedding of surface material. Also, some of the larger aircraft have engines that produce enough thrust to dislodge the gravel. Maintenance crews vacuumed the runway about three times a day to remove the bits of gravel. Officials say the debris could get sucked into aircraft engines. While gravel isn=92t as large a threat as a flock of birds getting sucked into an engine, officials said it presented a small safety risk. Further, the gravel could have damaged engine parts, and sweeping the runway was expensive. www.jhnewsandguide.com 307-733-2047 =A9 2009 Jackson Hole News&Guide All Rights Reserved <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".