Narrative:

Lft has an fdc NOTAM which indicates as follows: lft 01/006 lft runway 4R/22L northeast 1433 clsd wef 1201XXXXX. My flight was instructed to taxi to and hold short of runway 22L via taxiway foxtrot; lima; hold short of runway 22L at lima. I complied with the taxi instruction. Due to our five hour weather delay caused by the approaching weather system which concerned me as causing the possibility of windshear; I desired to use as much runway as practical for my departure. Once prepared for takeoff; I advised my first officer to request a back-taxi from the control tower on [runway] 22L. We were given a clearance to back-taxi on runway 22L; cleared for takeoff; climb and maintain 2;000 ft; and maintain runway heading. When I began my back-taxi; I noted that there were no runway markings identifying the closed portion of the runway. There were barricades which closed portions of taxiway juliet; but I was using taxiway lima anyway. There was a displaced threshold which was marked by the yellow chevrons which we are all accustomed to. There was a white line at the end of the displaced threshold (also typical of any other displaced runway threshold of which I am familiar with). I taxied across the white line while looking for some identifiable marking to indicate to me at which point I should make my turn around. As I continued across the white line; it began to become apparent to me that I could not see anything identifying where the runway closure began or ended. Since I was on a displaced threshold and since the control tower had cleared me for the back taxi; I believed that I was utilizing the open portion of the runway. At some point after crossing the white line; I realized that I was not going to be able to identify the beginning of the closed portion of the runway; at which point I made my 180 degree turnaround and began my reduced thrust takeoff run without incident. At no point in time did ATC ever instruct me to stop or turn around. If I did in fact encroach on any closed portion of the runway; it was purely due to the lack of proper runway markings to identify where the closure began. Since it is obviously ridiculous to assume that I can accurately gauge 1;433 ft from the cockpit without a distance measuring device; then I think it's fair to say that it is impossible under the circumstances that I have just described to positively identify the proper end of the runway acceptable for use for takeoff. If you compound these factors; with my weather; schedule delays; and windshear concerns; then it is easy to understand how something like this situation can be overlooked. I truly do hope that the airport manager at the lafayette regional airport in lafayette; louisiana would make a better effort at insuring that the runway environment is properly identified. Furthermore; it would be nice to see them actually open the runway up completely once again. I am very familiar with the field and yet it seems like every time I fly in; there is some new part of the airport NOTAM'ed out of service.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A corporate pilot reported that he was unable to determine where the closed 1;433 FT of LFT Runway 22L began while back-taxiing from Taxiway L toward the runway's end.

Narrative: LFT has an FDC NOTAM which indicates as follows: LFT 01/006 LFT RWY 4R/22L NE 1433 CLSD WEF 1201XXXXX. My flight was instructed to taxi to and hold short of Runway 22L via Taxiway Foxtrot; Lima; hold short of Runway 22L at Lima. I complied with the taxi instruction. Due to our five hour weather delay caused by the approaching weather system which concerned me as causing the possibility of windshear; I desired to use as much runway as practical for my departure. Once prepared for takeoff; I advised my First Officer to request a back-taxi from the Control Tower on [Runway] 22L. We were given a clearance to back-taxi on Runway 22L; cleared for takeoff; climb and maintain 2;000 FT; and maintain runway heading. When I began my back-taxi; I noted that there were NO runway markings identifying the closed portion of the runway. There were barricades which closed portions of Taxiway Juliet; but I was using Taxiway Lima anyway. There was a displaced threshold which was marked by the yellow chevrons which we are all accustomed to. There was a white line at the end of the displaced threshold (also typical of any other displaced runway threshold of which I am familiar with). I taxied across the white line while looking for some identifiable marking to indicate to me at which point I should make my turn around. As I continued across the white line; it began to become apparent to me that I could not see anything identifying where the runway closure began or ended. Since I was on a displaced threshold and since the Control Tower had cleared me for the back taxi; I believed that I was utilizing the open portion of the runway. At some point after crossing the white line; I realized that I was not going to be able to identify the beginning of the closed portion of the runway; at which point I made my 180 degree turnaround and began my reduced thrust takeoff run without incident. At no point in time did ATC ever instruct me to stop or turn around. If I did in fact encroach on any closed portion of the runway; it was purely due to the lack of proper runway markings to identify where the closure began. Since it is obviously ridiculous to assume that I can accurately gauge 1;433 FT from the cockpit without a distance measuring device; then I think it's fair to say that it is impossible under the circumstances that I have just described to positively identify the proper end of the runway acceptable for use for takeoff. If you compound these factors; with my weather; schedule delays; and windshear concerns; then it is easy to understand how something like this situation can be overlooked. I truly do hope that the Airport Manager at the Lafayette Regional Airport in Lafayette; Louisiana would make a better effort at insuring that the runway environment is properly identified. Furthermore; it would be nice to see them actually open the runway up completely once again. I am very familiar with the field and yet it seems like every time I fly in; there is some new part of the airport NOTAM'ed out of service.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.