After more than a year of intense reconstruction, a brand-new 8000 foot long by 200 foot wide runway has been rebuilt and reopened at Jacksonville Naval Air Station.

As part of one of the nation’s oldest naval air bases, the new runway will handle more than 50,000 takeoffs and landings a year as it overlooks the St. Johns River on Jacksonville’s Westside.

The Navy is holding a ceremony Monday morning to officially reopen the runway, starting with the firing off of fireworks and speakers blaring squawking birds to clear the winged, feathered residents that have been living here while this field has been inactive for the past year.

The Times Union has a reporter at this morning’s reopening. We’ll have more on the event soon on Jacksonville.com and in Tuesday’s Times-Union.