Workers for the state were out making repairs to Wiscasset Municipal Airport’s runway on July 30, in the latest work to address cracking.

Ervin Deck, manager of the town-owned airport, compared the problem to cracks or potholes on a road: They’re no help to safe travel and they can put a lot of wear on vehicles or, in this case, planes.

The cracking problem is not posing a risk of an airport shutdown, but there may come a point where the airport sends out notices to pilots advising them of the cracking so they can decide if they want to land there, Deck said.

The runway dates to 1961 and got lengthened to 3,397 feet in 1968, according to the master plan. Overlays were applied in 1979 and 1998, but the runway has never been rebuilt.

“It’s in extremely bad shape,” Deck said. The work now under way is a temporary patch to the problem that comes down to aging, he said. It will help keep existing cracks from getting bigger and help keep water out that could cause further damage, he said.

The airport’s new master plan eyes a solution, a runway reconstruction projected to cost $1.2 million. As is common with big projects, the Federal Aviation Administration would fund 90 percent; and the state and the town, 5 percent each.

The plan describes the runway’s pavement as being in poor condition with significant cracking.

“In addition, water is intruding into the pavement, resulting in a collapse of pavement in several areas,” the plan states.

But when the runway will get its redo remains unknown. According to Deck and the master plan, the FAA won’t fund the work until the airport’s airspace is hazard-free. That puts the project on hold until there’s an end to the controversy over the possible removal of some Chewonki Campground trees that stick into the airspace. The airport’s neighbor across Route 144 is the same age as the runway, and has had sizable support from its guests and from many residents who have shared the campground owners’ concerns about the impact of the loss of the trees.

Wiscasset selectmen’s 3-2 approval of the master plan on July 22 will free up funds for the town to negotiate with the campground; as a result, the plan’s passage also represents one hurdle cleared toward the runway’s reconstruction, Deck said on July 30.

“It’s one of many milestones,” he said.