Grant County Regional Airport aims to begin and complete construction on improvements to its north-south runway this summer.

The project will widen the runway and strengthen the runway pavement, officials said.

“We want the project to happen because the runway pavement is degrading,” said airport manager Haley Walker. “The size of aircraft that are already using our airport need to have a stronger base and a wider runway.”

The price tag for design and construction of the airport runway improvement project was just shy of $8 million, Walker said. About 90% of the project’s funding comes from the Federal Aviation Administration, and it was up to Walker to secure the remaining 10 percent, or about $800,000.

“We were successful in our Connect Oregon grant application, and so they’re going to fund the remaining 10% — which means no local funds are required,” Walker said.

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, Walker said.

“We made plans to make sure that doesn’t happen, so we’ve included that in our design,” she said.

Robert Watt, chair of the Grant County Regional Airport Commission, said improvements to the runway and future improvements included in a longer-term master plan aim to help the airport grow as an economic engine for the region.

The Grant County Regional Airport Master Plan, which looks at possible development there in the next 20 years, explores the possible addition of taxiways to allow airplanes to connect with the adjoining airport industrial park.

“I think that, as we improve, it allows more businesses to look at Grant County as a viable place to do business,” Watt said.

Ron Simpson, fire management officer for the Malheur National Forest, said the runway improvement project will be beneficial to both federal and state aviation resources.

“The airport is a good base for us to house our firefighting air resources and to help protect the forest and the communities around the forest,” Simpson said. He added that the runway improvement project “is going to create a greater safety margin for our aviation resources.”

In addition to being a base for firefighting operations during fire season, the airport serves medical aircraft used to transport people in need of more extensive care than Blue Mountain Hospital can provide to larger medical centers in the region.

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.

“What people tell me is that we have one of, if not the, nicest (general aviation) airports in Oregon, period,” Walker said.