FAA Reviewing Operations Related To Runway Safety Upgrade Project

One of Sikorsky Airport's two runways is being closed for the winter pending an FAA review of operations at the facility.

The airport, based in Stratford, CT, is still working to complete a long-delayed runway safety upgrade that was mandated following an accident in 1994 that resulted in the fatal injury of eight people. The Connecticut Post reports that the project includes runway reconstruction, drainage remediation, and hazardous waste removal.

But the FAA initiated a review of the project after a contractor allegedly drove a truck through an area where aircraft taxi over the Labor Day Weekend. The agency ordered that the construction be stopped while it looked into safety protocols, airport operations, and other records. The stop-work order is still in effect, according to the paper.

“The city and the Sikorsky team are working with the FAA on a new safety plan for recommencing construction, (but) paving will not be undertaken until early spring,” said said Brett Broesder, a spokesman for Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch.

City Council President Thomas McCarthy, who is also a member of the airport board, told the paper that the airport will remain partially open while the matter is resolved.

(Image from runway project website)

FMI: www.bridgeportct.gov/airport