However, with the expansion project officially under way, the airport is now shifting to development. The airport must wait several more years until the nearby FM 1484 roadway is rerouted to begin extending the primary runway from 6,000 to 7,500 feet, Bilyeu said. Next year the airport will start maintenance on the primary runway and add a new taxiway, which will open up about a dozen acres for development of more hangar and office space. The rest of the expansion projects are funded 90 percent from federal dollars and 10 percent from county funds. The county decided to pay extra - about $1.2 million instead of $600,000 - to maintain the runway's length at 100 feet. When the $5.9 million project is finished in April 2007, the secondary runway will serve as backup if the primary runway is ever closed and will be more attractive to jets at the airport, Bilyeu said. The secondary runway will be extended from 4,000 to 5,000 feet and will be reconstructed with longer-lasting concrete instead of the existing asphalt. Runway expansionĬonstruction crews recently began digging up the secondary runway at the airport, built in 1943 as a naval facility during World War II. "Corporate aviation, that's what we're trying to attract," Bilyeu said.
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