It shouldn’t be long before grading and drainage work recommences at New Castle-Henry County Municipal Airport.
Personnel and equipment from Boyd & Sons of Washington, Indiana are expected to soon return to the local airport to finish grading and drainage work associated with the western half of a new runway project. It is anticipated they will finish phase one within three weeks of returning to the job site, weather permittin
Phase two, which involves grading and drainage of the eastern half of the planned runway area, is expected to begin shortly thereafter. The tentative proposed timeline calls for bids to be advertised in early June and opened for consideration later that month, although members of the local Board of Aviation Commissioners are hopeful that timeline can be moved forward.
How much work is actually accomplished this year remains unknown. That will depend in large part on how much funding the BoAC receives from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We’re hoping to receive around $1 million at a minimum,” John Baer of the engineering firm Woolpert said. “Right now, it’s kind of hard to say what that will pay for. We’re anticipating the remaining portion of the grading, which is the eastern half of the proposed runway site, and I’m also hoping to get at least some pavement down, but a lot of that will depend on how the bids come in for the grading.”
Given the option to ask for some or all of the funding needed for the next phase of construction, the board voted to go big back in January. Baer said at the time he could ask the FAA for some of the funding needed for 2016 or he could ask for all of it. He pointed out that getting the entire $4.7 million the group is seeking was highly unlikely, but that it shouldn’t hurt to ask.
The grant request for 2016 funding must be submitted in early July and Baer said he should have a pretty good idea of how much money the FAA is willing to provide this year at that time.
There was also renewed discussion about the length and width of the new runway.
Originally, the board was looking to construct a new runway 5,000 feet long by 75 feet wide. The FAA said the board failed to demonstrate a need for those dimensions and scaled the project back to 4,200 feet by 65 feet. Baer said the cost for adding 15 feet in width to a 4,200-foot long runway was $300,000 to $421,000 depending on whether it was constructed of asphalt or concrete. Building a 5,000-foot by 75-foot runway would add $525,000 to $695,000 to the cost of the project.
Board members all agreed they would prefer the longer, wider runway as originally discussed. That final determination, however, is the FAA’s to make.
Airport manager John Marlatt reported interest has been expressed by at least of couple of local organizations in having a cruise-in, car show and fly-in at the airport, which is located on County Road 400 South east of Ind. 103, on Sept. 10. The event will include breakfast and lunch combined with an open house of airport facilities. Additional details will be forthcoming.
The BoAC will next meet at 5:30 p.m. April 25 at the community building, 100 S. Main Street, New Castle.
