Flyovers from Anchorage International Airport start back up

To the celebration of many Anchorage residents who were frustrated with the thundering of jet planes flying over the city while nearly $72 million in repairs were completed on the normal North-South Runway, the Anchorage International Airport recently announced that the

But residents may have noticed the now-familiar sounds of those same planes that rattled their rooftops all summer long have come back over the last week. Frustrated residents wondered, was it a nefarious plot from the powers-that-be to annoy residents? Engineer negligence that caused construction errors forcing another round of repairs? U.F.O.s?

Turns out, none of the above.

“We’re just completing some final punch list items,” said Department of Transportation spokesperson Shannon McCarthy. “It’s actually pretty typical of any project of this size.”

Among the tasks to be completed, labeling some runway wiring, double-checking bolt torque on fixtures, adding protective electrical tape on splices and reclaiming lighting fixtures where debris got inside them.

But, the DOT says that it’s not the kind of thing that will keep you up at night. The East-West Runway is only being used during the day, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., keeping the bone-rattling flyovers from awakening pets and children while they are asleep.

“DOT didn’t want to delay the opening because we knew we could do it during the day when it was least impactful to the public,” said spokesperson McCarthy.

Luckily, the repairs shouldn’t last too long. While they started on Monday, Oct. 21, they are scheduled to last about 12 days, putting the scheduled date of completion at the beginning of November.