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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The first phase of Morgantown Municipal Airport’s extension project is ongoing.
According to airport director Jonathon Vrabel, crews have built the existing embankment up about 100 feet. The project includes another 100 feet of work.
“We’ve had a good portion of the taxiway embankment done,” he said.
The airport previously received funding for the second phase of the project, but officials agreed to put the effort back out for bid because of inflation and rising fuel costs.
The second phase has also changed; officials originally proposed an excavation package similar to the first phase, but the effort will now focus on relocating a stream and nearby wetlands as well as clearing land and removing low-grade coal. Crews are not expected to begin work in the area until November because of a study regarding a nearby bat habitat.
Vrabel said the project’s focus will return to excavation and building the fill for the taxiway, and the airport benefit from the delay.
“The taxiway is one of the critical steps. The section we’ve already built we’re going to let settle,” he said. “That will be the next critical step as we move forward. We need to get that land built up.”
The Federal Aviation Administration previously awarded $10 million in supplemental grants for the project. Vrabel said officials are working on another application.
“Probably the end of this month or maybe next month is when we can submit for it,” he said. “We’ll probably hear sometime around the end of the federal fiscal year, which is October.”
Vrabel said the city has not budgeted funds for the work, but he is confident the airport will receive the grants and the project will not be delayed.