SMA SIGHTS AN 'X' ON RWY AS HE IS ABOUT TO FLARE. FELT SAFER AT THAT POINT TO LAND AS HE COULD SEE NO OBSTRUCTION ON RWY.

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WHILE ON VFR FLT TO COTULLA ARPT; NO NOTAMS OBSERVED IN MANUAL. COTULLA HAS A PUBLISHED APCH. ON APCH TO LNDG; NOTICED RWY APPEARED TO BE IN PROCESS OF BEING RENOVATED. NO TFC; NO EQUIP; NO PEOPLE NOTICED ANYWHERE ON ARPT PROPERTY; BUT 2 AIRPLANES APPEARED TO BE TIED DOWN; AND 1 WITH A TUG ATTACHED IN FRONT. ON FLARE; NOTICED THAT VERY POORLY DISTINGUISHABLE MATERIAL APPEARED TO FORM AN 'X' AT THE END OF THE RWY. IT HAD NOT BEEN NOTICED; AND WAS NOT NOTICEABLE UNTIL WITHIN ABOUT 25 FT ALT AND 100 FT DISTANCE. PLT COMPLETED LNDG; AS IT WAS MORE DANGEROUS TO ATTEMPT GAR THAN TO LAND AT THAT POINT. RWY APPEARED TO BE SMOOTH AND USABLE. IT WAS JUST GRAVEL RATHER THAN VERY POOR ASPHALT AS IT HAD BEEN ON LAST APCH AND LNDG HERE. LNDG WITHOUT INCIDENT; TAXIED TO RAMP. TRANSACTED BUSINESS FOR WHICH THE TRIP HAD BEEN PLANNED AND LEFT; AGAIN WITHOUT ANY TFC; NO PEOPLE; NO HAZARDS. ARPT MGMNT SHOULD MARK THE ARPT WITH MORE VISIBLE COLORED MATERIAL; AND CAUSE NOTAMS TO BE PUBLISHED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES THE RWY WAS BEING WIDENED AND REPAVED. THE GRAVEL WAS THE SAME COLOR AS THE MATERIAL USED TO MAKE THE 'X' ON THE RWY. HE DID NOT SEE IT UNTIL HE WAS IN THE FLARE. HE WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT MORE THOROUGHLY AFTER THE FLT AND COULD FIND NO NOTAM INFO. HE COMMENTED TO A PERSON ON THE GND ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY SEEING THE 'X' AND WAS TOLD THERE HAD BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF PROB WITH THE CONTRACTOR. RWY WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN COMPLETED A MONTH BEFORE. RPTR ALSO STATED THAT THE RWY WAS IN GOOD CONDITION AND NO WORK CREW ANYWHERE AROUND. ADDITIONAL CALLBACK: ARPT MGR STATES THAT THE ARPT HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE LAST OCT BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING PROBS WITH THE CONTRACTOR. APPROPRIATE NOTAM SENT. THE LCL FSS ALSO CONFIRMS THAT THE ARPT HAS BEEN NOTAMED CLOSED.