by Michael Griffith
The Morgantown Airport has been granted approval for an extension of their runway which is set to begin in the fall of next year.
At the beginning of November, it was announced that Morgantown Municipal Airport will begin the construction of extending its runway. This comes after many years of city officials appealing for funding from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The project will cost around $50 million and will take anywhere between five to ten years to complete.
WVnews.com included this quote from their story on the extension from Morgantown City Manager, Paul Brake. “It is truly rewarding to see this come to fruition,” Morgantown City Manager Paul Brake said. “Having a professional airport director, along with the new CEO of the Morgantown Area Partnership, we can move this aviation facility and the commercial park forward adding strong, sustainable economic vibrancy to the community.”
Currently the runway is 5,199 feet long, making it the shortest runway in the state among commercial carrier airports. The extension is set to add 1,001 feet making the new length around 6,200 feet.
Morgantown Municipal Airport included a public environmental assessment draft that citizens may review and comment on. This assessment fully explores the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the proposed runway extension.
This graphic from Morgantownwv.gov shows what the runway will look like after construction.
According to a WBOY story, Paul Brake said there were three steps involved in the approval process from the FAA. The first was the justification of why the runway was needed, then an environmental assessment, and lastly the funding phase.
This runway extension will be beneficial to the city and is showing that it is supported by all communities in Morgantown.
One result of the extension is the development of the I-68 commerce parkway. Brake says it will be the most significant economic development in the city of all time.
“The side benefit to this project is where the dirt is coming from to build because in essence at the end of the runway it’s a considerable drop off we have to move 4.4 million cubic yards of dirt and that will be coming from a hilly area that will be flattened out and become a commerce parkway,” Brake said.
Currently, the airport sees about 50,000 flights in and out of the airport. This project will give the opportunity for that number to increase.
Almost Heaven, Almost Hell 