Airport Upgrade Will Not Be Complete
The Florence Municipal Airport will have to forgo plans to chip seal the runway next spring. There were plans to update the lighting and recover the runways with monies provided by the FAA, but bids came in higher than proposed estimates for the project. The FAA did approve the 1.1 million dollars but after engineering fees there was not enough to do both projects. Two bids came in for the work and after one was disqualified for an incomplete submission the city was able to negotiate with the remaining bidder and get the lighting upgrades. The current system is more than 20 years old and needs to be updated. The installation of a new PAPI lighting (precision approach path indicator) system will help pilots maintain the correct approach to a runway. Public Works Director Mike Miller says the chip seal project will likely be rolled into another project in the future. Had the chip seal project advanced the airport would have been shut down for about a 10 day period. The lighting upgrade will close the airport for a 10 hour period each work day beginning at 10am. The work is slated to begin in the late spring, but Joe Roshak with Century West engineering says with good weather, that project could start as early as March.
Planning Commission Continue Discussions
The City Planning Commission will meet tomorrow for a work session to continue discussions on changes to the Tsunami Hazard Overlay and Development Code as well as a review of the buildable lands inventory. The city is continuing its focus on determining access to properties that can be used to develop affordable housing communities as well as educating the public on the opportunities that have been provided through a change in the state law that allows for the building of accessory dwelling units on properties that already have a single family house. The session is open to the public and will be at the Florence Event Center at 5:30 pm tomorrow evening.
Bridge Work Continues Overnights
Work continues on the Siuslaw River Bridge this week. ODOT says that most of the work continues to happen overnight to avoid delays on the bridge during busy traffic times. Workers will be present from midnight until 8 am daily to continue the 20 million dollar project.
Summer Not Yet Gone
The Florence area will get a second shot of summer on this first full week of fall. Weather is predicted to be in the 70’s through Thursday with plenty of sunshine throughout the week. There will be wind with the sunshine for today and tomorrow, but that is expected to subside for Wednesday and Thursday.
