Brunswick County airport set for growth

Oak Island | The booming growth that has hit Brunswick County will soon be felt at its airport.

The long-planned extension of the 4,300-foot runway at Brunswick County Airport is slated to achieve an important foothold later this year when work begins to relocate Airport Road around the northern perimeter of the airfield, said John Ramsey, chairman of the airport's board of directors.

"We've finished up with the Department of Transportation's road design and should be letting bids on the project very soon," Ramsey said, either later this month or early February. "That should be starting very quickly."

Ramsey said extension of the runway to 5,505 feet would be a crowning achievement at the 45-year-old airport. If the road relocation is completed later this year, as expected, the runway extension should be finished by 2010, he said.

The cost of the runway extension, addition of a second taxiway and other airport expansion is estimated at $21 million, funded through state and federal sources. Locally, 10 percent matching funds will come from the airport's main funding sources: the county government and the municipalities of Oak Island and Southport.

The runway extension project could begin at the end of 2008 if the airport obtains the necessary funding, primarily from federal sources, airport director Howie Franklin said.

Ramsey said the airport has 25 acres on which to expand. Along with the runway extension, a third phase of the project calls for a new airport terminal building on the opposite side of the airfield from the current one.

The airport has spent $5.9 million on the improvements so far, with the federal government picking up 90 percent of the tab. Earlier this year, the county commissioners allocated nearly $6 million to the airport for road relocation.

"That's why we're able to go ahead now. It puts us in good shape," Ramsey said of the money assigned by county commissioners. That money, from the county's reserve, will be paid back annually from airport revenue.

Franklin, who's been the airport director for 12 years after service in the military aboard Air Force One, said the airport project has acquired all acreage needed by purchasing properties outright or through state condemnation proceedings with property owners.

Ramsey said only three civil suits remain to be adjudicated to clear titles on land that will become part of the longer runway. "The money is waiting in the bank for the owners," he said.

Brunswick's facility ranks 13th out of the state's 62 general aviation airports in terms of economic impact in their respective counties, Franklin said. A 2006 study by the state Commerce Department estimated the airport contributes $26 million to the local economy through direct expenditures and spinoffs such as hotel stays. The airport operates on an annual budget of about $750,000 and makes the bulk of its revenue through sales of aviation fuel.

The longer runway is important because it will enable larger planes, including small private jets, to land and be based at the airport, Franklin said. That would generate additional property tax revenue that could double the current economic impact, he said..

"I get a lot of phone calls asking. 'When will that (longer) runway be open?'●" Franklin said. "We're just trying to meet the demands out there."

Asked about the additional 5 feet on the proposed 5,500 foot runway's length, Franklin, known as the airport's chief promoter, said he wanted to make sure Brunswick is listed on maps used by pilots looking for refueling sites with runways longer than 5,500 feet.

Paul Jefferson 755-6307

paul.jefferson@starnewsonline.com