Crosswind runway coming to Wadena Airport
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Wadena Municipal Airport is getting a crosswind turf runway.
This type of runway is safer for pilots of small planes to take off and land parallel to the wind rather than perpendicular to it. It is also a way to provide pilots a safe way to land in poor winds.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project has been five years in the making, according to Wadena City Administrator Janette Bower.
The airport was relocated to the current site in 1998 allowing many improvements including a 4005 foot paved runway.
“Our airport consultants and FAA, of course, communicate very closely about the needs of airports. And so my guess is between the two of them this project originated and also with support from our airport and the pilots that plane in and out of the airport,” explained Bower.
They received eight bids for the project and it was awarded to Blombeck Construction of Eagle Bend for the lowest bid in the amount of $520,275. The Wadena City Council unanimously accepted the bid on June 25.
Construction is slated for August depending on the weather and the FAA.
The total cost will be approximately $550,000. The FAA is footing 90 percent of the bill for the crosswind, leaving the city to pay approximately $145,000.
“It’s a very nice airport. The pilots love it,” said Bower.
This addition will make it even more appealing.