RPTR EXPERIENCES EXTENSIVE GND HOLD DELAYS. ACFT REQUIRED TO MANEUVER ABOUT THE ARPT IN PROCESS OF GETTING TO THE GATE. R GEAR GETS OFF PAVEMENT INTO MUD TURNING FROM TXWY A TO TXWY E. AUTHS SAY THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS YR.

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THE PROB STARTED WITH A 1 HR 29 MIN GND DELAY IN SRQ FOLLOWED BY A SPD REDUCTION ENRTE AND HOLDING FOR 1 HR BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE ALTERNATE ARPT OF RIC. UPON LNDG AND TAXIING TO A REMOTE AREA; IT TOOK OVER 1 HR 20 MINS TO GET A FLT PLAN TO EWR. AT THIS TIME WE WERE GIVEN AN ADDITIONAL 2 HR GND DELAY. PAX WERE VERY ANNOYED SO TO ACCOMMODATE THEM WE ARRANGED WITH COMPANY TO ALLOW THEM TO DEPLANE ONCE A GATE BECAME AVAILABLE. WHEN GIVEN PERMISSION TO TAXI; I TAXIED BY TXWY T TO THE RAMP AREA. THERE WAS AN ACFT ON THE GATE AND A COMPANY ACFT PARKED AWAITING ATC RELEASE. IT WAS TOO NARROW TO TAXI SO I FOLLOWED ATC INSTRUCTION TO TURN R ON TXWY AA TO TXWY A. I COULDN'T TURN L FROM TXWY A TO GET TO THE APRON AS BOTH TXWY C AND TXWY D WERE CLOSED; SO I HAD TO TURN R ON TXWY A FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER FLT ON TXWY E. WHEN TURNING FROM TXWY A TO TXWY E THE R MAIN GEAR EXITED THE TXWY AND BECAME STUCK IN THE MUD. THE ARPT IS UNDER A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION AND THE TXWY E HAD NO LEAD-IN LIGHTS. ALSO; TXWY E IS VERY NARROW WITH A VERY SMALL APRON LEADING INTO IT. WHEN TALKING TO ARPT AUTHS WE WERE TOLD THAT THIS WAS THE THIRD TIME THIS YEAR THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED WITH ONE OF THE MISHAPS BEING ANOTHER ACR. ALSO; THE GND WAS VERY SOFT DUE TO HVY RAINS. THE WINDS WERE STRONG AND GUSTING AT THE TIME. THE PAX WERE DEPLANED AND BUSSED TO THE TERMINAL WITH NO INJURIES. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED HE WAS FLYING AN MD80. THERE WAS A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN ALL THE AREAS HE WAS TAXIING AND THROUGHOUT THE ARPT. THIS NIGHT WAS DARK AND RAINY. WHEN HE CLRED THE RWY AT ALPHA HE WAS CLRED BY GND CTL TO TXWY T ON WHICH A BIG RED LETTERED SIGN SAYS NOT SUITABLE FOR ACR ACFT. THE GND CTL ASSURED HIM HE WAS OK TO TAXI ON TXWY T. THE RPTR SAID TXWY C AND TXWY D WERE NOT USABLE. THEREFORE; HE WAS REQUIRED TO TAXI BACK ON TXWY A TO TXWY E. THE BLUE TXWY EDGE LIGHTS ARE ABOUT 3 FT INTO THE DIRT FROM THE PAVED EDGE OF THE TXWY. AT NIGHT AND IN THE RAIN HE COULD NOT SEE WHERE THE PAVEMENT ENDED AND THE DIRT BEGAN. HE BELIEVES GND CTL SHOULD HAVE WARNED HIM. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF MARCH AND ALREADY 3 ACRS THIS YR HAD DONE WHAT HE DID AUTHS TOLD HIM. HE DID NOT KNOW OF ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THE PROB OTHER THAN ONGOING CONSTRUCTION MAY BE ADDRESSING THE PROB. IN THE MEANTIME THE TWR GND CTL COULD PERHAPS PROVIDE BETTER WARNINGS.