SANTA MONICA—According to a press release from the city of Santa Monica, on August 8, the Santa Monica City Council approved a Guaranteed Maximum Price of $3,517,320 and contract to shorten the runway at the Santa Monica Airport in alignment with the Consent Decree with the Federal Aviation Administration.
By shortening the runway at SMO Airport to 3,500 feet will reduce jet traffic, delivering immediate relief to neighboring residents by decreasing noise and pollution.
Construction is set to begin in the fall with completion by the end of 2017. Work is expected to be completed during the night to limit the 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 2 weeks prior to the start of construction.
The following steps are planned in the upcoming months:
-Final Design Completion – August 2017
-Site Preparation and Start of Construction – October 2017
-Construction Completion – December 2017
In the future, the runway surface or released land is not connected to the runway shortening project; staff are developing options for removal of excess runway pavement (as the result of the runway shortening) which will be presented to the Santa Monica City Council in late-September 2017.
Staff from Planning and Public Works are 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.
