CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Yeager Airport officials will travel to Washington, D.C. Tuesday to meet with the Federal Aviation Authority in hopes of receiving federal funds to rebuild the airport’s runway safety area.
Yeager’s overrun area in Charleston collapsed more than two years ago. The airport had plans to extend the runway into Coonksin Park, but currently do not have the funds to support the project.
Nick Keller, Yeager’s assistant director, said the airport is now looking at a temporary fix.
“What we’re looking at is doing an interim fix for the runway safety area and part of that is to rebuild a short EMASS bed for aircraft overruns and to extend the runway length by a couple hundred feet for take off and landing,” Keller said.
The airport is seeking about $13 million in federal funds from the FAA, Keller said.
The long term Coonskin Park project would’ve costed the airport around $125 million — a price tag Keller says the airport simply can’t afford. It includes lengthening the runway by 1,200 feet and creating safety zones on either end.
Keller said they eventually want to be able to follow through with the Coonskin extension project, but right now, they need some type of fix.
“This we see as a short term fix that can increase safety over what we have currently and reduce impacts to aircrafts so they’re not taking as many weight penalties until we can get a long term solution, which would be, hopefully, runway extension,” he said.
Airport officials have met with West Virginia’s congressional delegation over the last month. Keller said “all have been very supportive” of the plan.
Earlier this year, the airport submitted its master plan to the Trump Administration in hopes of getting on the President’s list of High Priority Infrastructure Projects nationwide.
Crews removed all 450,000 cubic yard of debris since the March 2015 hillside collapse. The next phase has been on hold until the airport can collect the funds to move forward.