The Central Nebraska Regional Airport is planning some major improvements.

Airport manager Bill Stovall says all the concrete taxiways and ramps behind the passenger terminal and control tower will be replaced. The repaving project is expected to cost 4.8 million dollars.

The Federal Aviation Administration will bear 95 percent of the cost of the project. The FAA has also agreed to increase the pavement strength so it can handle 747 airliners.

The project is expected to be completed in 8 months. Stovall said the renovation is necessary because the old pavement was laid in 1942, and is now almost unusable in some parts.