Presidential Visit Mangles Runway at Small Mass. Airport

[Matt Molnar]

NYCAviation:

Presidential Visit Mangles Runway at Small Massachusetts Airport
May 28th, 2010 • By Matt Molnar

The single runway of a tiny, privately-owned airfield west of Boston suffered severe damage when President Barack Obama paid a visit in April. Now the owner is petitioning the government to fix it. [FULL ARTICLE]

[moose135]

The airport owner, Robert Stetson, is a board member of the Massachusetts Airport Management Association. In his bio on their web site, he includes the following:

The project most critical to the future of Marlboro Airport, he believes, is the re-construction of its deteriorating movement surfaces. “The runway and taxiway pavement is over 40 years old,” he says, “and was not very good when it was new in that it’s only oil and sand over a turf base.” Cost estimates for the re-construction are in the $1 million range. Reluctantly, he predicts: “The airport will fail to survive if the runway and taxiways are not replaced soon.”

So, did the President's security detail ruin his runway, or was is already in poor condition, and he is looking to make a quick buck to help fix it?

[Matt Molnar]

That could be the case...if you look at the large version of the photo I used in the story, the runway is a massive patchwork of sealant....and that photo was shot in 2005, so presumably it has only gotten worse in the past five years.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... aerial.jpg