The FAA has delayed for two years a planned runway paving project that will effectively lengthen Norwood (Massachusetts) Memorial Airport’s 4,000-foot Runway 17/35 to 4,600 feet for takeoff and 4,300 feet for landing. The project, involving the paving of 300 feet of the overrun safety areas at each runway end, was previously set to get started in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.
After publication in 2020 of the airport's updated technical master plan and during the annual capital improvement planning session of the FAA, state Department of Transportation, and airport officials, the agency made the fiscal year change to the paved safety areas project, an airport spokesperson told AIN. “The project is now programmed in for federal FY2026, with a total project cost placeholder of $2.7 million and FAA paying 90 percent.”
With its two 4,000-foot runways, the airport opened in 1942 to train U.S. Naval pilots. In May 1946, the town of Norwood officially voted to take over the airport from the Navy. By 1970, Norwood Memorial Airport was the region’s primary business and general aviation airfield. The facility is served by two FBOs.