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KETCHIKAN - The snowplows will be as dry as the passengers at Ketchikan International Airport next winter.

The airport has added new snow-removal equipment and is constructing a $5 million building to store it indoors. Located on the south end of the runway, the building should be finished before September.

"It will help a lot in the winter, not having the equipment sit outside," said Rod Rossing, airport maintenance manager. "It allows us to keep the machines warm and dry and will make a huge difference in clearing the runway."

The new plows and other snow-removal equipment will also make things easier for the six-man crew. During the snowiest parts of winter, the workers spend up to 19 hours a day trying to keep the 7,500 feet of usable runway clear.

The older equipment was more than 30 years old and took a lot of effort to maintain. It was also tougher to operate.

The new building has heated floors, a tank to hold the chemicals necessary to deice the runway and an area to store sand that helps planes land during bad storms. The doors are remote controlled, so drivers don't have to get out of the vehicles during bad weather to open them, Rossing said.

The new building has been placed at the same site as the airport's old one. It's one the airport and its equipment outgrew.

"There's a lot of things we like," Rossing said about the new building. "No. 1, it's really large. The doors on the old facility didn't accommodate some of the equipment."