General aviation got a boost at Charlestown (West Virginia) International Yeager Airport (KCRW) with yesterday’s groundbreaking for a new GA ramp expansion. State and federal grants covered the $8.3 million cost of the 185,000-square-foot addition to the GA ramp.
Airport Director and CEO Dominique Ranieri said the project is the first of more to come. “This is the start to a very busy construction season here at CRW and we’re getting ready for the future of aviation in West Virginia,” she said. She cited increased demand and improved operations as incentive to add ramp space, along with Marshall University’s Bill Noe Flight School. As well as adding ramp space, the project addresses an issue with complex taxiway intersections leading to congestion for ground traffic.
“By filling in all of the space in between, the planes have more room to maneuver and can maneuver around each other, giving each other a very wide breadth, no chance of coming into too close contact or causing a taxiway incursion,” Ranieri said.
Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler added, “What we tend to forget when it comes to transportation is our airports and how pivotal and important they are, not just to our communities, but to economic development, how in today’s world, being able to get to a hub, whether that’s Denver, whether that’s Texas, whether that’s California, whether that’s Myrtle Beach, the opportunity to do so is highly important as we continue to grow our economy.”
The project is due for completion this October.
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