BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The North Central West Virginia Airport has the longest commercial runway (7,800-feet) in the state and is setting records as a $90 million expansion is on the horizon.
Airport director Rick Rock says they smashed a record of total enplanements that had been standing since 1979.
“1979 it was 42,128 and in 2019 we were over 42,800 enplanements.,” Rock said.
Rock says the combination of commercial and passenger service makes them a leader in the state.
“Quality of life, it’s connecting West Virginia to other parts of the world,”Rock said,”We can get anywhere, one-stop with our daily service from United and the fact we are connected to Florida and Myrtle Beach that are destinations where people want to go, but there are a lot of West Virginians live there.”
Rock says they are taking care of the administrative pre-construction process.
“The governor gave us a great jump-start in supporting that project in such a big way,”Rock said,”We’re moving through the environmental process, design and trying to get to the point that we can start moving dirt.”
Earthwork is now scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2020.
Rock says there have been trade missions abroad to tell airport’s story and attract new business, but their immediate commitment is with the companies already on airport property.
“We always want to make sure the companies that have been invested here have the first opportunity to expand, we don’t want to do anything to stunt their growth, so we try to be very supportive,”Rock said,”We try to utilize our land to its highest and best use, maximize what we do because it is a limited resource.”
During the 3rd Annual Aviation Day in Charleston this week the airport received a $53,958 grant from the West Virginia Aeronautics Commission. Rocks says that grant and a $1 million grant were used to extend and renovate the de-icing system and purchase a new snowplow. He praised the North Central West Virginia Airport staff for keeping the facility operational year-round.
“The team that we have here taking care of the facilities are the true heroes of the airport,”Rock said,”They keep it open 24/7/365 and they understand the role they play in keeping the biggest asset, that runway open”