BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice on Friday visited two facilities in northern West Virginia to mark economic projects impacting the region.
Public officials and North Central West Virginia Airport leaders broke ground on a development project consisting of 140 acres of flat property.
Crews will excavate three million cubic yards of dirt for the property, which will allow space for a new passenger terminal, auxiliary airport facilities and the 100-acre AeroTech Business Park. The business park has the potential to double the airport’s economic impact by adding one million square feet of building space to the airport.
“I congratulate you, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart,” Justice said during a ceremony. “There’s so much potential here. It is off the charts.”
Airport officials thanked Justice for making the project possible; he submitted separate $10 million requests to the West Virginia Infrastructure Jobs Development Council and the West Virginia Economic Development Administration to fund the work. The agencies approved the funding.
“He jumped in with both feet for CKB and central West Virginia, and I just can’t tell you how much this governor has done for this airport,” Harrison County Commissioner David Hinkle said.
Justice also attended a ceremony marking the grand opening of the Bridge Sports Complex, which is now Bridgeport’s largest sports facility. The complex includes a fitness center, an indoor turf field, a 10-lane competitive swimming pool, hardwood courts, and more than 30 indoor climbing walls.