Nighttime runway closure suspended

The nighttime runway closures at Southwest Florida International Airport have been suspended, and the airport has returned to normal operations.

Construction work to connect the airport's runway to the Midfield Terminal Complex's new taxiway required that the runway be closed for several hours each night. Plans are being made to resume and complete the work next spring.

"Winter weather has arrived early up north and is beginning to delay late evening flights into the airport," said Robert M. Ball, executive director of the Lee County Port Authority. "We don't want to inconvenience passengers or the airlines, and the work can be postponed without significantly affecting the construction schedule."

Since early September, the runway was closed at 12:25 a.m. each night and reopened for the first scheduled flight the following morning. Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit construction work near an active runway, necessitating the nightly shutdowns. The work was expected to take 60 days, but was delayed by unusually heavy rains.

Record-breaking rains have impacted work on the Midfield Terminal Complex, but the project is on track to open during spring 2005.

The new two-story, 28-gate terminal will replace the existing 17-gate terminal, which opened in 1983. The complex also includes a three-level parking garage, a 9,000-space parking lot, aircraft apron and taxiway, and an access-road system that will tie into the new Ben Hill Griffin Parkway/Treeline Avenue connector being constructed between Daniels Parkway and Alico Road.