The Piney-Pinecreek Border Airport has a unique claim to fame – its runway straddles the border of the US and Canada. But after seven decades of operation, the small airport that sits near Roseau, Minnesota, and Piney, Manitoba, in Canada, will close for good on Friday.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a news release earlier this month that the airport “had very low use and faced large maintenance expenses including runway, apron and terminal reconstruction. The international agreement required to operate the airport expires on December 26 and will not be renewed by either airport owner.”

The airport opened in 1953 with a grass runway – a paved runway was added in 1978. It is one of six airports straddling the border, but the only one with a paved runway. It was often used by Americans traveling to Canada to hunt and fish.

Under the international agreement, staff at the airport are allowed to cross between the two countries for their work without going through the typical customs process. (AP)

•The grass runway at the Piney-Pinecreek Border Airport near Roseau, Minnesota, on April 25, 1993. Tom Sweeney/Star Tribune/AP/File