The grant is worth $616,500.

That money will be used to seal the runway pavement surface and pavement joints.

Rhonda Chambers, director of aviation at the airport, said the project will extend the life of the runways in a cost-effective manner.

She said the runways are currently in good condition.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Workers at the Fort Dodge Regional Airport begin the process of deicing an Air Choice One plane recently. The airport received a federal grant that will be used to seal the runways this summer.

Both runways are vast.

The larger one is 12 lanes of traffic wide and over a mile long, according to Chambers.

Sealing the runways is a preventive and protective measure rather than the more costly option of overlaying the entire surface.

Chambers said overlaying the runways would cost millions of dollars.

The runways will instead be treated with an oil-based emulsion on top of the pavement.

Chambers described the treatment as “lotion for asphalt.”

An exact cost estimate for the project has yet to be determined.

The project is anticipated to start in the summer and will take most of the summer months to finish.

The Clarion Municipal Airport also received funding from the DOT to reconstruct runway lighting. The total for that grant is $158,808.