Construction on the main runway at the Santa Maria Airport has grounded most flights.
The southern end of the main runway will remain closed Monday through Thursday and possibly Friday while crews work to repave and revamp it.
But airport officials say the runway will be open for commercial flights on Thursdays and Sundays.
The smaller secondary runway is open, but only allows for smaller planes.
Airport General Manager Martin Pehl says this improvement was very needed and has been years in the making.
"They're going to do a grind of the asphalt, take it down to three inches, and then build it back up. And then they will let it cure, and then they'll put lateral grooving and paint it and make it all beautiful. We're getting new runway lighting, signage and that's all LED, so it'll be energy efficient," Pehl said.
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The $5.6 million project, which is mostly federally funded, is expected to last through Oct. 15.
Once reopened, twice-a-day flights on American Airlines to Phoenix will begin.
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