Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Airport; Chart Or Publication; Human Factors
Our flight release included an operational message advising FLL is undergoing a long term construction project including the re-designation of Runway 27L to 28L. The message said 'Currently; the primary Runway is 9L/27R and Runway 13/31 is an alternate.' The FLL NOTAMS included only one RUNWAY NOTAM; indicating that Runway 10L/28R had ungrooved pavement between Taxiway E and Runway 13/31. We had received an EDCT and expected to need to wait a while before taking off. Ground told us to taxi down B for departure on the newly-renamed 28L and to expect to hold in the run up area until our time came up. I repeated the instructions; but asked for confirmation we were cleared to cross Runway 13/31. I was surprised to hear the Ground Controller then tell me that; no; 13/31 had been decommissioned and was closed. I acknowledged that and we taxied towards Runway 28L on B. Shortly; we discovered that; not only was the runway closed; but Taxiway B was also barricaded where it crossed the old 13/31. We asked ground about that; and he had us join C at D to continue taxiing toward the runway after some other traffic on D passed. While I am concerned that the Ground Controller apparently was unaware of the status of B Taxiway; I am much more concerned that crews are not being made aware that FLL is currently operating in a single runway configuration. A pilot may think that; although FLL is a fairly busy airport; at least it has multiple runways available in the event something closes his primary planned runway. That is not the case; however; and certainly was a great surprise to us. Apparently the Dispatcher was aware as he said 'they have been working for months now' when I asked via ACARS if he was aware they only had one runway. This was our first visit to FLL in a long time; however; and despite reviewing our paperwork; we were not aware 13/31 was closed. We were fully aware there was construction (closing 27R) and changes to the magnetic variation (renaming 27R to 28R); but not that 13/31 was also closed.
An air carrier flight crew flying out of FLL was surprised to learn that Runway 13/31 had been decommissioned and the new East West runway was not yet open; making it a one runway airport.