Runway 14/32, the primary runway serving Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, will close for a major rehabilitation projected beginning May 10. It is expected to reopen in the fall.
The $9.1 million project will include resurfacing 8,600 feet of runway, installing new LED lighting, improving drainage and enhancing navigational approach.
“Overall, this project will help the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley continue to be an important economic driver by improving its existing infrastructure for our tenants and the Mobile Downtown Airport,” said Chris Curry, Mobile Airport Authority president. “It’s best to complete this project now before we relocate commercial air passenger service, so it won’t impact those operations.”
For years, the Brookley complex has been home to Mobile’s aviation cluster, including Airbus, VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering and Continental Aerospace Technologies as well as many support firms. The airport authority won FAA approval for moving commercial air passenger service from Mobile Regional Airport to Mobile Downtown Airport just last month.
While the rehab project is in progress, flights to the complex will use the north-south Runway 18/36.
Airport authorities gave a nod to Alabama’s senior senator, saying “This project would not be possible without the help of U.S. Senator Richard Shelby. A grant is funding this project under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) of 2020.” The grant was announced in February.
Built in 1929, the Mobile runway was extended in 1955 and has been rehabilitated and upgraded several times over the intervening years, most recently in 2005.
Mobile airport move story from the April 2021 issue of Business Alabama Magazine here.
