Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) began a $17.3 million overhaul of Runway 7R/25L and two taxiways on the south side of the airfield on Friday, Feb. 26, requiring the temporary closure of the runway.

The work, which is not expected to have a noticeable impact on passengers, includes removal and replacement of about 6,000 feet of the runway’s asphalt surface along with Taxiways H6 and H7. In addition to the asphalt overlay, new energy-efficient LED runway centerline lights will be installed. The work is scheduled to take a little over two months to complete, and the runway is expected to reopen in early May.

“At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we challenged ourselves to use this time of a reduction in air traffic to complete repairs and airfield improvements more efficiently than ever before,” said Bernardo Gogna, Chief Development Officer, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA). “The replacement of the asphalt on Runway 7R/25L is an example of how we are investing in the long-term health of our airport and completing work that would have been much more disruptive if done when we were operating at full capacity.”

The work, which is being performed by Sully-Miller Contracting Co. at a cost of $17.37 million, also includes replacing the runway concrete approach slabs at the bridge over Sepulveda Boulevard. The LED lighting improvement will reduce maintenance costs as well as energy use. The new wearing surface is expected to last about a decade.

Runway 7R/25L is typically used for arriving flights. The parallel Runway 7L/25R, which is closer to the terminal buildings and typically handles departures, will be converted to use for both departures and arrivals, with some arrivals moved to the north runway complex.

Because Runway 7R/25L is an outboard runway, noise impacts are expected to be minimal, and overnight over-ocean operations will not be affected.