Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport (RUT) has begun the second and final phase of a taxiway program, which it began last year. Phase One, which cost $3.8 million, saw the construction of 1,800 feet of new Taxiway Alpha at the approach end of Runway 1/19. Slated for completion by the end of October, the $2.5 million last phase of the project, which will run parallel to the 5,300-foot main runway, includes lighting, signage, storm drainage and pavement markings. It will replace Taxiway Echo, which will be retained as a maintenance road for ground vehicles.
“The older Echo didn’t meet the recent [FAA] design standards for larger aircraft to use Rutland,” Rollin Tebbetts, the Vermont Department of Transportation’s (DoT) manager for maintenance and airport operations, told AIN. The new taxiway will permit operations by aircraft with wingspans longer than 79 feet and also eliminate Taxiway Charlie as it provides a more direct route between the runway and the ramp.
Funding for the project is largely coming from FAA grants, with the remainder covered by the state DOT. RUT, which provides access to many of the state’s famed ski resorts, is the largest of the 10 state-owned airports.