Flights Resume on JFK's Longest Runway

Flights resumed this week on John F. Kennedy International Airport's "Bay Runway," after a four-month closing for construction designed to reduce flight delays.

The $348.1 million project to widen and resurface the runway, which is the longest and busiest in the region, was completed on budget and ahead of schedule, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials said.

"And we did not have more delays because of the construction, which was in itself an achievement," a spokeswoman told AOL Travel News.

The runway had last been refurbished in 1993. The new concrete surface is expected to last 40 years.

Work was done on 10,925 feet of the 14,572-foot long runway during the closure. The remaining 3,647 feet of work will be completed in two phases in the coming months.

The project includes high-speed aircraft exits and access taxiways to speed takeoffs and landings and reduce aircraft queuing. The Port Authority estimated the project will reduce flight delays by 10,500 hours per year.

JFK handles 48 million passengers annually as one of the nation's busiest airports, with the Bay Runway typically handling a third of the traffic.

Photo courtesy of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey