JOHN DAY — Grant County Regional Airport officials are aiming to start construction on improvements to the facility’s north-south runway next summer.

The project, expected to begin in late spring or early summer next year, will widen the runway and improve the runway pavement, which had been degrading over the years, officials said. Aircraft currently using the airport also need to have a stronger base and wider runway, officials said.

“It improves the safety of our airport for aircraft already flying in — for example, medical and fire aviation,” said airport manager Haley Walker. She said the project is expected to be complete by the end of the summer of 2024.

The Grant County Court on Wednesday, Sept. 14, approved a notice of award to the contractor.

“The county is issuing a notice of award to the contractor selected for this price and the next step is we negotiate a contract with the contractor,” Walker said.

The contractor selected is Terrebonne-based High Desert Aggregate & Paving, with the contract price set at $7,316,151, she said.

Total design and construction costs of the airport runway improvement project come to just shy of $8 million, Walker said. Some 90% of the project’s funding comes from the Federal Aviation Administration, and it was up to Walker to secure the remaining 10%, or about $800,000.

“We’ve secured 9.9 percent of the remaining 10%, and we will be seeking grant funding through Oregon Department of Aviation for the less than 1%,” she said. “The remainder we’ll be seeking is about $67,000.”

The airport also has an east-west runway. Firefighting operations by the U.S. Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Forestry are not expected to be impeded by the summer construction project next year, Walker said.

“We do have a work-around with the construction design if needed for fire aviation,” she said.

In addition to being a base for firefighting operations during fire season, the airport serves medical aircraft used to transport people in need of extensive medical care to large regional hospitals.

The airport, which is owned and operated by Grant County, covers about 335 acres, with 17 hangars on the property. Its terminal building was opened in 2010.