Last Updated on April 23, 2018 9:14 am
RALEIGH – From commercial airports that are among the world’s busiest to rural airports that support farms and manufacturers, each is a vital part of a connected transportation infrastructure. To keep North Carolina moving, the state requires a top-class system of airports that transports people and cargo while attracting business investments from all over the world.
To that end, the N.C. Board of Transportation in March approved state and federal funding for 10 airports for a total investment of $12.2 million.
“Grants such as these make sure we maintain that link between our state and national and global markets,” said NCDOT Director of Aviation Bobby Walston. “They keep our 72 public airports safe and able to better serve the pilots, businesses, and passengers that rely on them.”
The following airports received state and federal funding:
- Ashe County Airport: $350,000 to acquire land and existing hangars;
- Kinston Regional Jetport at Stallings Field: $2,000,000 for terminal building repairs;
- Mount Airy-Surry County Airport: $480,000 for design and preliminary engineering on a new apron and new hangars;
- Odell Williamson Municipal Airport (Ocean Isle Beach): $1,202,000 for land acquisition, including rights-of-way and utilities, and preliminary engineering on an expanded runway protection zone.
- Piedmont-Triad International Airport: $500,000 of design funding for a taxiway over future I-73.
- Plymouth Municipal Airport: $3,803,486 for construction of a parallel taxiway and related permitting;
- Siler City Municipal Airport: $37,000 for preliminary design of navigation easements and obstruction clearing;
- Stanly County Airport: $1,740,604 for 120-inch pipe rehabilitation;
- Statesville Regional Airport: $1,850,000 for the construction of an eastside parallel taxiway; and
- Tri-County Airport (Aulander): $256,360 for vault relocation.
Airports and aviation-related industries contribute $31 billion to North Carolina’s economy each year, per a 2016 report. There are 123,400 airport-related jobs in the state. The Division of Aviation is responsible for state airport and aviation system planning and development, and provides funding to communities for constructing and improving airports throughout the state.
