Extension of runway at Morgantown Municipal Airport takes ‘crucial step’ forward

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Morgantown Municipal Airport Runway Extension Project hit a “milestone” this week, drawing praise from City Manager Paul Brake in an effort to relieve congestion at Morgantown’s airport.

During Morgantown City Council’s regular meeting Tuesday, Brake announced that the Federal Aviation Administration concurred with the city’s Runway Extension Justification Study. This approval from the FAA marks what Brake considered a crucial step towards receiving significant help toward funding the project.

“This is one part of the study, a couple more steps that we have to go through to secure funds through the Airport Improvement Program,” said Brake.

The AIP is one of two grants needed to help defray costs for the city of Morgantown. The $35 million project is intended to improve and modernize airport facilities including expanding on a runway that is the shortest in the state despite being one of the busiest airports. In addition to the AIP, the city has applied for the Innovative Readiness Training Program, which brings in military reserve units who will provide labor during construction.

“Through this AIP, it will pay for a portion of the runway extension, this is a significant milestone that occurred,” he said.

Approximately 80 percent of the project will be covered with the two grants, leaving the city to pay around $8 million. The project, along with providing a safer area from updated construction, is also designed to provide new economic opportunities that were more difficult to achieve.

“It will enable us to retain commercial air service, to expand corporate aviation for business type of capacities, then lastly to make it a safer facility,” Brake said.

Another source of economic opportunity that was discussed was the potential neighboring business park, which is expected to be provided through leftover land and dirt after the runway extension is officially finished. The next step will be to present an Environmental Assessment, which must be go through a public hearing before being submitted to the FAA for approval.

“At the earliest February perhaps March, and that’s just for the Environmental Assessment,” Brake said.

The City of Morgantown also approved a $2.2 million loan earlier this month for the airport to help complete construction on the T-Hangar project.

The project has received an outside endorsement from West Virginia University, Star City, and the City of Westover.





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