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.