Officials cut ribbon for airport improvements
On an evening when all the world’s clouds seemed to settle over South Franklin Township, depositing all the world’s rain for the day, Washington County Airport made a big splash.
The county Redevelopment Authority, operators of the airport, hosted a ceremonial ribbon-cutting and open house Thursday evening. It was a celebration of $3.8 million in improvements to facilities, some of which were cosmetic, but all were necessary if the county hopes to build the airport, which in turn, can build the region.
“These airfield improvements pretty much will entice more operators to locate here,” said Scott Gray, executive director of the airport.
“The airport is one of the ways the county can enhance economic growth,” said Bill McGowen, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority.
Upgrades, undertaken over the past 18 months, included renovation of the terminal building; rehab and resurfacing of runways, taxiways and aprons; 10-foot-high fencing around the perimeter of the grounds, mainly to deter deer; and the purchase of about 85 acres on the Runway 9 approach.
Money for the projects came from the county Local Share Account, county capital and airport operating funding and grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and Bureau of Aviation, a branch of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The most urgently needed work was, literally, where the rubber meets the road: the runways, taxiways and aprons.
“The pavement was really faded and needed help,” Gray said in an interview on a gray evening.
The resurfacing included a process called microsurfacing, a thin top layer that is extremely black and highly visible from the air. This was done on three taxiways.
Pavement on the aprons, Gray said, “was in very poor condition. We had to take it down to the stone” before building it back up.
About 23,000 feet of linear fencing went up in two phases. “It doesn’t keep flying creatures from entering, but it does keep the deer out,” Gray said.
Further up the road, he added, are plans to “completely redo” Airport Road leading up to the facilities, and to refurbish parking lots.
New state Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, was among the pre-ribbon speakers inside a large tent. She is an air aficionado who learned to fly at Washington County Airport, and has “a baby plane” called Mary Frances.
A freshman legislator, Bartolotta is bullish on continuing growth at the airport. She is on the Senate Transportation Committee and said she is “trying to get PennDOT to put an off ramp near here,” off Route 70, a few miles to the north.
“If you are coming to Washington County,” she said, “there’s no reason to fly into Pittsburgh International Airport, no reason to fly into Allegheny County Airport. This is where you should come in.”
Washington County has owned the airport since 1953, but probably had not pushed for change this vigorously until recent years. Growth has been palpable, with 85 aircraft, 34 T-hangars, 10 corporate hangars and seven aviation businesses now calling the 401-acre property home. Those aircraft include 13 jets, a high-water mark for the facility.
“When I started four years ago, we had eight,” Gray said.
McGowen likewise is buoyed by on-site developments, but cautioned all principals involved with the airport to avoid complacency.
“We collectively have done a lot, but we collectively have a lot to do.”