Airport runway update largely complete

The recent Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) and Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL) installation project at the Waseca Municipal Airport is nearing completion. Airport manager Brent Langer said, “They did everything but finish the earthworks, seeding and some landscaping. They also have to do a flight check, which first has to be cleared with MNDOT and do their electrical tests. Currently they don’t have a date set.”

 

Approximately 97.5 percent, or $450,046 of this project came from federal/state grants including $274,688 already received in 2025. The remaining 2.5 percent, or $11,540, came from available airport funds. The final tests and earthworks should be completed by Sept. 30. 

 

NEO Electric, based out of Hudson, WI, was the contractor, continued Langer, “There were three guys out on the runway doing the installation back in June. They had to shut down the airport for three weeks during the day, from 7 a.m. through 6 p.m. There were a couple of times a plane needed to leave so they had to coordinate the departure, but everything else went smoothly.” The installation was completed on June 8. Langer explains the former path indicators and runway end lights weren’t malfunctioning, but “These new ones are more efficient and reliable. The end result is safety and that’s what we’re after.”

 

According to an online source, “A Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) is a visual landing aid installed at airports to help pilots during the final approach to a runway. It consists of a row of lights, typically four, positioned perpendicular to the runway centerline…and 15 meters from the runway edge using red and white beams.”

 

A REIL is a pair of synchronized flashing lights installed laterally on each side of a runway’s threshold to give pilots a rapid, unmistakable visual fix on the approach end of that runway.