The Lawrence Municipal Airport will be closed once more this afternoon, and is expected to open again Thursday morning after repairs to the main runway have been completed.

Traffic at the airport has been interrupted at various times over the past two weeks as crews repaired cracks in the larger of the airport’s two runways, said airport operator Lloyd Hetrick. The repairs are routinely paid for by Federal Aviation Administration grants, along with lesser funding from the city.

The repairs began about two weeks ago, interrupting jet traffic at the airport as the main runway could not be used, Hetrick said. Last week, the airport closed completely on Wednesday and Friday. It was closed again Tuesday.

Assuming the work is completed as planned, the airport should return to normal operation after closing once more from this afternoon until Thursday at 7 a.m.

Airport management had hoped to finish the repairs during the summer, when traffic slows. Now, university-related flights are increasing and the work has become a hindrance, Hetrick said. “We get this done and out of the way, and that will be great,” he said.