The final stage of Montserrat’s Airport Runway Resurfacing Project will be accomplished later this month (May 2021), with the completion of runway grooving and final line painting scheduled to begin next week.
In April 2021, the Government of Montserrat announced that the Runway Resurfacing Project, funded by the Capital Investment Programme for Resilient Economic Growth and administered by the Ministry of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy (MCWLE), had successfully completed its main construction phase. This allowed the John A. Osborne Airport to reopen as scheduled on April 22, 2021 for normal operations.
This final phase of the project will involve the grooving of the runway surface, as well as the application of the permanent line markings. This work is due to begin on Monday May 24, and will take approximately seven days to complete.
Director of the Public Works, Rawlson Patterson explained, “Grooving is the process used to cut small indentations/channels into the asphalt surface of the runway in order to allow water to drain more efficiently from the surface during wet weather conditions. The current runway also has temporary line markings which were completed last month, and these will be replaced with fast-drying permanent paintwork. The Project team continues to be thankful for the technical oversight support of AVIA NG Airport Consultants, and the input of our key stakeholders and the air regulator -Air Safety Support International (ASSI), to ensure that these works are effectively planned and coordinated.”
The Head of Programme Management, Martin Parlett said, “The Project remains on track to deliver these final works, following the completion of the resurfacing operations last month. Unlike the previous works which required the closure of the airport runway, all grooving will be undertaken overnight, and will work around normal airport operations. There should be no impact to the public at this time and we thank all airport staff and users for their cooperation throughout the course of this Project.”
Colin Fergus, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy, added, “With the completion of these works, we will achieve an important strategic goal to ensure continued airport operations and access arrangements for Montserrat. I am very proud of the continued collaborative efforts across the Ministry, Airport and other government departments to ensure that the project can be delivered on time, to quality, and in accordance with COVID-19 protocols.”
The works will be completed by Roadgrip Ltd, a subcontractor of Surrey Paving and Aggregate Co. Ltd.