By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM -- The runway at Potsdam’s airport is being widened to make it easier for pilots -- including those delivering for UPS -- to stay on the frequently slippery ribbon of concrete after two planes went off the side in recent years.

The work will take at least six weeks and maybe twice that long, during which time the airport will have to be closed to air traffic, said Brad Clements, manager of Potsdam Municipal Airport/Damon Field.

The daily air transport of cargo for the UPS depot right across the street from the airport will have to be routed elsewhere once the work begins, and the medevac service based at Potsdam’s airport, LifeNet, will be moved during the work.

The runway widening is being done due to safety considerations, Clements said.

Twice in the last seven or eight years, pilots flying twin-engine Embraer aircraft for Ameriflight, the contractor operating planes that make deliveries and pickups for the nearby UPS facility, have gone off the side of the runway in slippery conditions.

No serious damage and no injury was reported in either incident, but the chief pilot of the air charter company told Clements he has a limited number of pilots he can allow to come to Potsdam because of the narrow runway.

Since then, Ameriflight decided to start using slightly smaller single-engine Pilatus aircraft for trips to Potsdam.

The village-owned airport is in for a bit of a makeover this spring, when local building company J.E. Sheehan Contracting will widen the runway from its current 60 feet to 75 feet under the exacting specifications of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Sheehan reportedly got a jump on the work while the weather was good in November, doing things such as regrading some soil in preparation for the major work in warmer weather.

The $1.4 million job includes the runway widening and refinishing, maintenance of runway lighting, and installation of a visual guidance system.

The Federal Aviation Administration is paying 90 percent of the cost, and the state and the village are splitting the remaining 10 percent.

While Ogdensburg International Airport is undergoing significant reconfiguration, with construction of a longer runway and a larger terminal building in anticipation of jetliner traffic from airline Allegiant, and Gov. Cuomo’s announced competition among upstate airports for five $40 million grants, Potsdam’s project is not a major one in comparison.

But it should allow Ameriflight to begin using larger aircraft again, presumably increasing the efficiency of their operations with UPS.

“It’s principally a safety issue,” Clements said, noting that Potsdam’s is “one of the narrowest runways in the area.” By contrast, Massena’s Richards Field has two runways, each 100 feet wide, and Ogdensburg’s single strip is 150 feet wide.

Clements said strong crosswinds at Damon Field are not uncommon and pilots who are not used to the narrow and often snow- and ice-covered runway could get into trouble quickly. The wider runway will improve safety for everyone who uses the airport, he said.