Improvements are on the way for 11 airports across North Carolina following the approval of $35.4 million in state funding for aviation projects by the N.C. Board of Transportation. In addition to enhancing airport safety, these upgrades will support and help generate more economic activity and tourism.
“Airports are a critical part of North Carolina’s transportation system,” said N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation Director Bobby Walston. “Completing these projects will increase the safety of these facilities while also maintaining the link these airports provide our state to the national and global economies.”
Projects and estimated costs include:
Albert J. Ellis (Jacksonville) Airport lighting, signage and electrical vault replacement — $1,400,000
Billy Mitchell (Hatteras) Airport repaving – $1,200,000
Coastal Carolina (New Bern) Airport runway repaving — $3,000,000
Duplin County Airport runway widening and improved lighting — $4,000,000
First Flight (Kill Devil Hills) Airport repaving – $1,000,000
Kinston Regional Airport runway and taxiway repaving — $8,000,000
Laurinburg Maxton Airport taxiway repaving — $2,000,000
Ocracoke Island Airport repaving – $1,200,000
Rockingham-Shiloh Airport runway repaving — $3,600,000
Statesville Airport taxiway parallel construction — $8,000,000
Tarboro-Edgecombe County Airport runway repaving, updating airfield lighting and repairing damage caused by Hurricane Matthew — $2,000,000
Statewide airport data from 2016 shows aviation contributes over $31 billion in annual economic impact to the NC economy, including 123,400 airport-related jobs.
With the exception of the Albert J. Ellis Airport project, which will be funded 90 percent by the state and 10 percent locally, each of these safety projects are completely state-funded. The funds being used are allocated for safety, operations and maintenance.
