The Santa Monica City Council approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $3,517,320 and contract to shorten the runway at Santa Monica Airport in alignment with our Consent Decree with the Federal Aviation Administration. Shortening the runway to 3,500 feet will reduce jet traffic, bringing immediate relief to neighboring residents through reduced noise and pollution.
Construction is set to begin this fall with completion by the end of 2017. It will initially be done at night to get the project done expeditiously while limiting impacts to aviation operations. Noise will be monitored and mitigated throughout the project. There will be a limited hard closure of 7 to 14 days. All impacted residents, businesses, and aviation tenants will be notified two weeks prior to the start of construction.
Here are the next steps by month:
- Final Design Completion – August 2017
- Site Preparation and Start of Construction – October 2017
- Construction Completion – December 2017
Here’s a diagram of the shortened runway design:
While the potential future uses of excess runway surface or released land is separate from the runway shortening project, staff has begun the process of developing options for removal of excess runway pavement (as the result of the runway shortening) which will be presented to Council in late-September 2017. Additionally, staff from Planning and Public Works have begun outlining and will present a framework for a future community process to determine potential uses of the reclaimed land, and the design of that space that are safe and compatible with the operation of SMO.
AECOM is the company contracted to design and oversee the runway shortening project.
