Works on new runway and parallel taxiway (dec 14, 1950 – sep 14, 1953)

Description:

Nearly a decade after the Government of Aruba constructed the original paved runway, it was discovered while repairing 42 paving breaks which appeared between December 1950 and March 1951 that only two and a half inches of paving covered the runway. The paving break-ups threatened to close the field so the island government decided to adopt a two-fold program; to pave an area 133 feet wide and 4,500 feet long to be used as a runway and taxi-way strip while the main runway was being repaired.

In September 1953, the 4,500 foot combination runway and taxiway was completed, which served as a substitute for the main runway while it was being repaired and lengthened. When work on the main runway was completed in 1954, the new 6,445 ft. lighted runway and 4,500 ft. parallel taxiway configuration served to upgrade the airport from Class D to Class C in the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) rating system which existed at the time.

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