Airport road project advances
WAYNESBURG – The Greene County commissioners are expected to award a contract today for construction of the new intersection on Route 21 at Murtha Drive for Greene County Airport.
Two bids were received for the project, part of a long-discussed plan to open airport property fronting Route 21 for commercial development.
The bids were opened earlier this month. The low bid was for $768,719.30 from Folino Construction Inc. of Oakmont, county Chief Clerk Jeffrey Marshall told the commissioners at their agenda meeting Wednesday.
The new intersection will realign the airport entrance road with Murtha Drive and make a new four-way intersection at Murtha Drive and Route 21. The contract includes construction of the intersection and installation of accompanying traffic signals.
The county expects work to begin on the intersection in the spring. Commissioner Blair Zimmerman said he was glad to see the project finally moving forward.
“This (project) started before I was here and I’ve been here for four years,” he said.
The county earlier constructed a new airplane hangar east of the airport administration building and demolished four old hangars on property fronting Route 21 for the three, two-acre parcels that will eventually be available for commercial development.
The second phase of the project will be construction of a small section of road within the airport property leading from the new intersection to an area east of the administration building where a new parking lot will be built.
The county also hopes to begin construction on the second phase of the project this summer, Marshall said. The third and final phase, construction of a road inside the airport property west to the three commercial lots, is expected to be bid sometime this year, he said.
The county has hired the real estate firm, Burns & Scalo, to market the three, two-acre lots that will be available for lease fronting Route 21.
The commissioners have said they hope at least one of the tenants will be a sit-down restaurant. Leasing the properties also is expected to provide a stable revenue stream to help fund airport operating costs.
The county hopes to complete the project primarily with grants. It now has more than $3 million in grant money earmarked for the project, Marshall said.