Why Are There So Many Big Trucks Around Albany International?

Earlier this week, I was driving through Albany near the airport and noticed I was traveling slower than usual. There were also a large number of big construction haulers traveling alongside me that turned into the airport.

At first, I thought maybe they’d already started work on the new terminal improvements announced earlier this month. If you’ve also seen more construction equipment around Albany International and wondered why, I discovered the answer.

Runway Models

Starting this past Saturday, Albany International is experiencing a fleet of 70 dump trucks and 4 highway resurface machines bringing in hundreds of truckloads of asphalt for a massive repaving project on one of the main runways. The airport’s Cross-wind Runway 10/28, the secondary east-west runway, is being redone after years of use.

The 7,200’ by 150’ runway requires 24 football fields worth of tarmac. Once the asphalt is fully laid, teams will go to work cutting half inch grooves into the runway to funnel off melting snow and rain to combat pooling. Nobody wants their airplane to turn into a hydroplane on takeoff or landing. This is not a part of the $100 million in upgrades, now partially funded by New York State.

How Will Flights and Traffic Be Affected?

This construction will not affect any of the 53 average daily arrivals or departures at ALB. Until the project is completed, the 8,500-foot North/South Preferential and Instrument Runway 01/19 will be the only main runway. 01/19 handles two-thirds of regular traffic, so this isn’t a major flight disruption. It is causing slowdowns in auto traffic near the airport, with additional delays on Old Wolf Road and Old Niskayuna Road.

Albany International serves Allegiant, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United flights. Frontier airlines suspended all Albany service following their failed Spirit merger, with no date set to resume Capital Region flights.