BENTONVILLE -- The municipal airport may get a parallel taxiway on the west side of the runway sooner than expected if the city lands a one-time grant from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics.
The grant is for paving projects. The state would provide 90 percent and the city would match 10 percent, according to documents from this week's City Council meeting. The grant amount would be capped at $500,000.
The runway is 4,426 feet long. There is about 600 feet of paved taxiway on the west side. The grant would build about 1,000 more feet, said Ben Peters, city engineer and airport manager.
The grant is a "post-bid" grant, meaning the city cannot apply for it until the design is complete and the project is bid, Peters said.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved hiring Morrison-Shipley Engineers for $39,150 for the engineering services associated with the design.
That money will be reimbursed by the grant, if awarded, Peters said. The city will pay for the work if the grant isn't awarded.
There are other grants the city could pursue if this one isn't obtained. There's an Arkansas Department of Aeronautics grant for $400,000 where the state would pay 80 percent and the city would match 20 percent that could be sought. There's also Federal Aviation Administration discretionary money that might be available, Peters said.
The design work doesn't have a shelf life and can be held on to while other money options are being looked at, he said.
The airport's capital improvement plan had the west side parallel taxiway scheduled for 2016. This one-time grant opportunity gives reason to push the project up to this year, according to the meeting documents.
It's not a standing grant, Peters said.
"It's first-come, first-served," he said. "When the money's gone, the money's gone."
The west side parallel taxiway has been discussed for probably close to 10 years, Mayor Bob McCaslin said.
"It's been a dream to have a parallel taxiway," he said, adding money always has been the road block.
It's a safety issue to not have one. Planes have to use the runway to taxi back to the terminal, he said.
The west side taxiway would also allow other planes to land and take off while the one that just landed taxis, Peters said.
"This would increase the number of plans per hour our runway could take," he said.
The west side of the runway could also be developed with more hangars because the parallel taxiway would provide access to them, Peters added. The east side doesn't have any more room for development.
NW News on 05/30/2015