CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Work to fix Yeager Airport’s overrun safety area that collapsed in 2015 is underway.
Construction started this week on the airport’s EMAS (Engineered Materials Arrested System) at the end of Runway 5. The airport previously accepted a $13.5 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for the first phase of the project.
“They’re out there digging test pits, they’re out there drilling core samples, so they are working today. We are glad to get started as fast as we have,” said Yeager Airport Director Terry Sayre.
Consultants working on Yeager’s Master Plan are studying the length of the runway. After the EMAS bed is complete next year, Yeager’s runway will be approximately 6,700 feet. The long term goal is to extend the other end of the runway into Charleston’s Coonskin Park. The airport needs about 7,000 to 8,000 feet of total runway to meet future needs.
The airport’s Master Plan includes changes to the airport’s runway on both ends. The first phase of the project includes slightly reducing the length of the runway on the 5-end, where the slide occurred.
Sayre said Yeager will need to repair the slope before work can begin on the 2-3 end of the runway.
“Hopefully this time next year we’ll be having another ceremony to celebrate the 5-end being completed and the EMAS installed. That’s my goal — to get it down first. This is going to be done in conjunction with that,” he said.
In order to complete the entire project, which is expected to last a few years, Yeager needs more funding from the FAA.
“Hopefully the Master Plan will be done early next Spring and we’ll start our meetings with the FAA to get funding for what we need,” Sayre said.
Yeager’s hillside collapsed on March 12, 2015, destroying a church and several homes in the area.