News
Grants will allow airport taxiways, taxilane to be upgraded
Posted on June 7, 2023
Originally published in the Times Daily.
The city is using state and federal grant money to make improvements to infrastructure at the Russellville Municipal Airport.
The total cost of the project, including the grants and local funding, comes to $608,600.
Mayor David Grissom said plans for the airfield improvements were drawn by Garver, a Huntsville engineering consulting services firm.
The project involves improving an existing taxiway and taxilane pavement at the general aviation airport.
“This project will replace aging asphalt for the partial parallel taxiway and shade hangar taxilane,” Garver Aviation Project Manager Randall Richards said. “Existing asphalt in those areas is cracked and prone to producing (foreign object debris), which can damage aircraft.”
According to grant documents, continued deterioration to the taxilane will require reconstruction rather than rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation will also address drainage issues, and redirect water away from the hangars to the end of the taxilane, Richards said.
The taxiway and taxilane reconstruction project will provide a start to the future construction of a parallel taxiway.
The parallel taxiway will provide additional room for expansion, and enhance airport safety by eliminating the need for back taxiing.
The project will utilize $547,740 in Federal Aviation Administration Airport Infrastructure Grant and Airport Improvement Program funds. The state is contributing a total of $30,430 while the city of Russellville is also providing $30,430 in matching funds.
“We’re just trying to get it going,” the mayor said.
In 2022 the airport added new Runway End Identifier Lights (REIL) through an FAA grant.
The engineering firm has also worked up a timeline of additional airport improvements, but Grissom said those projects are not funded at this time.
The total cost of those projects is nearly $15 million.
Those projects include sealing the apron, construct an eight–unit T-hangar, building a parallel taxiway, and adding lighting to the new taxiway.
“Each one of those have to come back for approval,” he said. “Some of those we will not be able to do. It’s kind of a wish list.”
Grissom said identifying those projects is helpful in case additional grant funding can be acquired. In some cases, Grissom said, airport grants cover 100% of the project costs.
The city is only providing 5% of the total cost of the taxiway and taxilane improvements, with the state and federal government covering 95% of the cost.
Richards said bids were open April 20, and Midsouth Paving was the only bidder.
“Grant applications have been submitted and signed by the city,” Richards said. “Construction should begin in late summer.”