Funding from the Federal Aviation Administration will allow for much needed repairs at the Camarillo Airport.
The facility will use a $14.4 million grant from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, announced Sept. 19, to repave its runway, which is more than three decades old. The funding, one of the largest sums the Camarillo Airport has received, is part of a combined $170 million awarded to 46 airports across California.
“As you can imagine, in airports the No. 1 critical thing to have is an operational runway,” said Keith Freitas, Ventura County director of airports.
Planes park at the Camarillo Airport in 2022.
The repairs, which will cover all 6,000 feet of the existing runway, are estimated to cost $35 million, Freitas said.
The Ventura County Department of Airports, which oversees Oxnard and Camarillo airports, will rely on its own budget as well as additional grants from the FAA to pay for the project, and work will begin once all the funding is available.
Repairs are expected to take place in early 2027, and Freitas said work will be completed at night so the businesses located at 555 Airport Way do not need to close during the day.
Pavement on runways is generally designed to last about 20 years. Though the current pavement is about 35 years old, Freitas said it is in good condition due to regular maintenance.
“But at a certain point, you can’t keep doing that,” he said. “That’s why you have to keep ahead of it with projects like this.”
The project will not result in any operational change, such as to the length of the runway or the allowable weight of planes, said Freitas, addressing concerns many Camarillo residents share about increased air traffic and noise.
“The key message is nothing is changing for us,” he said. “We’re just replacing the old movement with new pavement so we can continue doing the business that we do.”
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation’s Fund to Support Local Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: FAA awards Camarillo Airport $14.4 million for runway repairs