MANDAN (AP) - A $4.7 million runway renovation project for the airport in Mandan is starting earlier than expected.
Mandan Airport Manager Jim Lawler tells The Bismarck Tribune that the project will now start in 2013, not 2016.
The newspaper reports that the Federal Aviation Administration approved the earlier start. Federal funding will pay for 90 percent of the project, while state and local funding will each cover 5 percent of the costs.
Lawler says the project will replace the 35-year-old asphalt surface with concrete and add new lighting.
The 4,400-foot main runway serves 15,000 single-engine and light twin-engine plane takeoffs and landings per year