Construction began Monday on Phase I of the new Inverness Airport runway and taxiway.

The new runway and taxiway are being realigned and will be longer than the existing facilities.

After the first and second phases are finished, the new runway and taxiway will be 5,000 and aligned more to the south than they are presently.

In Phase I of the $2.4 million project, the new runway and taxiway will only be partially constructed. About 1,200 feet of the new runway will be built and about 3,500 feet of the new taxiway .The Federal Aviation Administration is funding 95 percent of this phase, and the county and the Florida Department of Transportation are splitting the other 5 percent.

Phase I will include the associated airfield lighting for the runway and taxiway, as well as a new backup generator for the lights.

In Phase II, the old runway and taxiway to the north currently being used will be taken up as the new, re-aligned runway and taxiway are finished out to 5,000 feet. The new runway will be widened from 60 to 75 feet, and the new taxiway will go from 25 to 35 feet.

The county is currently extending Watson Street west from U.S. 41 to the south end of the realigned airfield, where the new taxiway will connect with a new maintenance hangar and apron soon to be constructed. The Watson extension could be finished by the end of November.

In another, separate aviation project across the county, the Crystal River Airport taxiway extension project is nearing completion. The new 4,555 foot, widened taxiway was moved 76 feet to the north and widened to 35 feet. The 35 feet is made necessary by the larger aircraft that have begun using the airports in recent years. The new wider taxiway is required for safety for those B-2 category aircraft, such as corporate jets.

Between state and federal grants it has secured, the county only had to pay 1 percent of the cost of $1.15 million Crystal River Airport improvement project. The project is finishing almost two months ahead of schedule and is being done by a local firm, D.A.B. Constructors.