Airport Taxi Way Project Nears Final Approval
BARNESVILLE – At the August 13 board meeting of the Belmont County Regional Airport Authority, Greg Batts, president of the group, shared the news that the Belmont County Commissioners have signed the two federal contract documents for the runway project (an Airport Infrastructure Grant, or AIG, and Airport Improvement Program, or AIP) needed to move forward on the taxiway and access road project planned for the spring of 2027.
After opening construction bids on May 6, the Authority selected the Canonsburg, PA, firm of Cast & Baker Corporation to complete the $ 3.7 million project.
The project is funded 95 percent by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and 5 percent by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
No stranger to the local area, Cast and Baker is currently wrapping up the Barnesville Railroad Tunnel rehabilitation project.
Batts indicated contract documents with the firm will be ready to sign shortly.
The federally funded project will involve moving the taxi way closer to the airport’s hangers to meet the new FFA standards that now require the minimum distance from the runway centerline to the parallel taxiway centerline be 150 feet.
That involves moving the entire 800-foot taxiway at Barnesville- Bradfield Airport to the north, placing the wingspan of most single- and small twin-engine planes very close to the hanger doors.
Batts shared he tried to get the FAA to agree to a taxiway location to the south allowing parking space near the hangers, but failed to obtain a waiver.
“We did have a lot of heartache over the design. I fought them to the last minute, all to ask them to take this 800-feet of taxiway that is interfering with this building and move it 18-feet.They would not budge.”
With the taxi way moved, the access road to the easternmost hanger at the airport must also be relocated to the north.
When the work begins, the airport will be out of commission much of 2027. Batts predicted owners of most of the 11 planes currently housed at the airport will move them to other fields in the area, including the counties of Monroe, Noble and Tuscarawas.
A component of the project covered locally will be creating an outside parking pad at the hanger just east of the office. Without this development, a plane owner about to fly could be forced to move another plane parked in the hanger multiple times before lift-off because the current parking area will effectively disappear once the taxiway is relocated.
The last major project at the airport in 2021, rehabbing and paving the runway, also funded by FAA and ODOT, came in a little under $3 million, according to the federal spending monitor website, GovTribe.
Looking to the future, Batts reminded members of the airport’s 10-year plan.
He also said there is a need to get younger flyers involved. Alex Stephen, airport manager, currently offers flying lessons, but authority board members expressed the opinion most people are unaware of the service.
Board member Joe Bradfield remembered a time when flight training was offered to local high school students.
Young licensed pilot Bri Dickinson attended the meeting seeking a way to gain some hours in the air. In addition to offering hanger space for aircraft storage, Dickinson found out some planes may also be rented.
Other business conducted at the meeting was a review of the state fire marshal’s inspection and recommendations.
The next board meeting at the airport will take place Thursday, September 10 at 2 p.m.
The Barnesville-Bradfield Airport, 62299 Fairview Road, Barnesville, is managed by the Belmont County Regional Airport Authority that was established by the Belmont County Commissioners and the Village of Barnesville to oversee the operation and development of Belmont County’s only publicly-owned airport. The once privately owned airport was donated to the village by John Bradfield in 1969. At that time, the runway was paved and the field was accepted as the official Belmont County Airport.
Board members of the Authority are Greg Batts, president; Jeff Britton, vice president; Joe Bradfield, Roger Deal and Curtis Hallstrom. Brenda Brown serves as fiscal officer and Alex Stephen is the airport manager.
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