MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The city of Morgantown has received a $9.52 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support the next phases of the runway extension project at Morgantown Municipal Airport.
Airport Director Jonathon Vrabel said the funding will cover construction work included in Phase 6 as well as the design for that phase.
Phase 5 marks the beginning of the fill over the stream that was enclosed during Phase 4. This phase continues the construction of the embankment that will ultimately support the 1,001-foot runway extension. The work includes placing an estimated 450,000 cubic yards of rock embankment.
“Phase 5 will start the embankment over that encapsulated pipe and start creating the embankment for the future runway,” Vrabel said.
The phasing of the project has been adjusted to align with the available grant funding. A retaining wall originally planned for Phase 4 has been deferred to a later phase—possibly Phase 6—in order to reduce both the height and cost of the structure.
“So, it’s going to cost us less money to do it this way and we’ll have the embankment built up,” Vrabel said. ” We’ll build the wall toward the top of the embankment, so Phase 6 we’re expecting possibly that wall to be built but Phase 6 will be mostly adding to the embankment.”
The next phase of the runway extension project will also mark a significant advancement for the proposed I-68 Commerce Park. Material excavated during earlier phases will be used as fill for the extended runway, effectively clearing and leveling the adjacent area designated for the industrial park. This dual-purpose approach supports both aviation infrastructure and economic development in the region.
“That rock is there, it’s piled up and ready to go,” Vrabel said. ” So, the next phase we’ll take the rock off those sites and putting it into place which will create the pads for the I-68 Commerce Park to be built.”
Vrabel said the project so far has focused on subsurface work and preparing the surrounding area for expansion. Moving forward, the next steps will bring visible progress for both the I-68 Commerce Park and the Morgantown Municipal Airport runway extension.
“Everything prior to this has involved more of the technical aspects- enclosing the stream, that’s very technical,” Vrabel said. ” The previous phases have technical with the excavation and now we’re going to start moving all this embankment.”
Vrabel believes that as the project advances, securing grant funding from the federal government could become easier. Earlier phases focused on preparatory and environmental work, and with that now completed, the team can concentrate on building the structural fill that will support the 1,001-foot runway extension.
“They’ve been technical with the excavation and now we’re at the point where we’re going to start moving all this earth to make the embankment,” Vrabel said. ” For here forward it is primarily earthwork and it will be easy for them to fund.”
The grant comes with a requirement for a $500,000 match from the city and Vrabel believes they will receive a state grant to cover half of the matching cost.