South Carolina Airport’s Rehabilitation to Close Runway at Night

July 31, 2014

South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) will be closed nightly starting Sunday, Aug. 3, through late March 2015, for rehabilitation of Runway 18/36.

“Our goal to have as little impact on business and other flights as possible, so runway closings will be only at night,” said Kirk Lovell, assistant director of airports for Horry County, which manages MYR. “Business flights are a very important part of our operations.”

Construction times will vary by the day of the week, with Friday through Monday closures from 11:45 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., and 10:45 p.m. to 6:45 a.m. on weekends. Closure times will be issued by FAA NOTAM, as well as posted on the airport’s website and its Facebook page.

Work on the asphalt-and-concrete runway will include runway reinforcement, paving, leveling and re-grooving, as well as replacement of runway edge and taxiway centerline in-pavement lighting. New runway markings and seeding and sodding dirt areas will also be completed. The total cost is estimated at $18 million.

Myrtle Beach’s 9,503-foot runway is one of the longest in the Southeast U.S. Aircraft using MYR are primarily general aviation, including business aviation, with Part 135 air taxi aircraft making up almost three-quarters of its total traffic. In the past year, the airport handled more than 145,000 takeoffs and landings.

“Myrtle Beach International has a very large percentage of business traffic, so Horry County officials are wise in making these improvements now,” said Greg Voos, NBAA’s Southeast regional representative. “This work will extend the runway life for another 20 years or more.”

For flights arriving during the closure periods, Lovell suggested operators try one of the three other county-owned airports in the Horry County Airport System: Grand Strand Airport (CRE), Conway-Horry County Airport (HYW) and Twin City Airport (5J9).

“We’ve tried to make this major runway rehabilitation project as painless as possible, but with only one runway, the closures are necessary,” he said. “Please help spread the word that Myrtle Beach International Airport is not closed for business.”