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Last month, due to a dramatic downturn in travelers due to the outbreak, county officials closed the airport’s Runway 16/34 for rehabilitation, with the goal of completing the project with minimal impact on flight activity once airport operations returned to normal.
The runway will fully open back up at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced.
Latimer said that by completing the Runway 16/34 Rehabilitation Project during this time frame, paving operations were shortened from three months to three weeks, with as much as 6,000 tons of asphalt placed in one day.
“We are here to announce the completion of a major capital project that we were able to do faster and for less cost than planned,” he stated. “We knew that we were going to have a major drop in air travel due to the coronavirus outbreak and the ability to move this project and get it done in a directed period of time has saved the county money and some distribution for those that live in the area.”
Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Works and Transportation Hugh Greechan added: “The decision to move up the Runway 16/34 Rehabilitation Project enabled us to shorten paving operations from three months into a three-week time frame.
“By completing the repaving during the Airport’s closure, the need for the installation and removal of temporary runway pavement during normal airport operations has been eliminated.”
The planned rehabilitation had originally been scheduled for the fall, but was ultimately moved up when the virus allowed Runway 16/34 and the intersection that connects the runways to both be closed for construction and repaving without impacting flights.
“As a result of the extreme downturn in flight activities worldwide, we have taken the opportunity to advance the construction schedule of the Runway 16/34 Rehabilitation Project,” Airport Manager Peter Scherrer said. "This efforts significantly reduces the overall construction schedule and improves the quality of the final pavement surface, which ultimately extends the service life of the runway.”
A breakdown of COVID-19 cases in Westchester, by municipality:
- Yonkers: 6,705;
- New Rochelle: 2,852;
- Mount Vernon: 2,611;
- White Plains: 1,723;
- Greenburgh: 1,094;
- Ossining Village: 1,017;
- Peekskill: 883;
- Cortlandt: 770;
- Yorktown: 600;
- Mount Pleasant: 553;
- Eastchester: 443;
- Harrison: 385;
- Mamaroneck Village: 378;
- Sleepy Hollow: 366;
- Scarsdale: 350;
- Somers: 298;
- Dobbs Ferry: 293;
- Mount Kisco: 271;
- Tarrytown: 270;
- Bedford: 234;
- Rye City: 198;
- Elmsford: 196;
- North Castle: 192;
- Rye Brook: 176;
- New Castle: 174;
- Croton-on-Hudson: 167;
- Mamaroneck Town: 166;
- Pelham: 162;
- Ossining Town: 149;
- Tuckahoe: 128;
- North Salem: 121;
- Pleasantville: 115;
- Hastings-on-Hudson: 114;
- Pelham Manor: 102;
- Lewisboro: 95;
- Briarcliff Manor: 91;
- Ardsley: 91;
- Irvington: 78;
- Larchmont: 64;
- Bronxville: 62;
- Buchanan: 34;
- Pound Ridge: 26.
According to the state Department of Health, 128,363 Westchester residents have been tested for COVID-19, with 32,517 (25.3 percent) testing positive. There were 115 new positive cases overnight. More than 1,300 Westchester residents have died from the virus.
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