{"id":28710,"date":"2024-05-20T15:54:43","date_gmt":"2024-05-20T15:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=28710"},"modified":"2024-05-20T16:04:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-20T16:04:37","slug":"massdot-celebrates-groundbreaking-of-taxiway-b-south-project-at-westfield-barnes-regional-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/news\/airports\/massdot-celebrates-groundbreaking-of-taxiway-b-south-project-at-westfield-barnes-regional-airport\/%20","title":{"rendered":"MassDOT Celebrates Groundbreaking of Taxiway B South Project at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Photo above &#8211; FAA New England Regional Administrator Colleen D&#8217;Alessandro addresses attendees.&nbsp; <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is\ncelebrating the groundbreaking of the <em>Taxiway B South<\/em> project at\nWestfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Western Massachusetts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Airport officials broke ground on the $32 million project on\nMonday, May 13, at a ceremony attended by elected officials, municipal leaders,\nand members of the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.  When completed, the Taxiway B\nSouth project will significantly improve airfield safety for civilian and\nmilitary operations.  Westfield-Barnes\nRegional Airport is one of 35 public use airports across Massachusetts overseen\nby MassDOT\u2019s Aeronautics Division.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur airports are a vital part of Massachusetts\u2019s\ntransportation network, linking residents, visitors and businesses and spurring\neconomic activity in their communities,\u201d said Transportation Secretary and CEO\nMonica Tibbits-Nutt. \u201cOn behalf of everyone in the community, I want to thank the\n104th Fighter Wing and the airport management team for their determination and\ntheir ongoing work to bring this vision to life.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe congratulate the entire team at Westfield-Barnes\nRegional Airport on this groundbreaking and look forward to supporting them in\nevery way that we can in this endeavor,\u201d said MassDOT Aeronautics Administrator\nJeff DeCarlo. \u201cThe regional economic importance of Westfield-Barnes cannot be\noverstated, making this infrastructural upgrade a welcome development for the\nsurrounding community.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christopher Willenborg, Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport\nmanager said the airport is a significant transportation asset and economic\nengine for Western Massachusetts that generates approximately 2,100 jobs. The\nairport has an economic impact of $236M each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Taxiway B South Relocation and Construction Project\nwill enhance the safety of civilian and military aircraft utilizing\nWestfield-Barnes Regional Airport,\u201d said Willenborg. \u201cWe greatly appreciate the\nspirit of collaboration and cooperation between the five funding agencies\nincluding the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Defense National\nGuard Bureau, Massachusetts Governor Military Taskforce, MassDOT Aeronautics\nDivision, and City of Westfield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The $32 million project is the largest single investment in\ninfrastructure improvement in the airport\u2019s 100-year history, expected to be\ncompleted by the end of 2024. The project consists of three main components:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Realigning and widening of Taxiway B South <\/li><li>Realigning and widening of Taxiway E <\/li><li>Reconstructing and expanding the South Arm Apron\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to widening and realigning the taxiways, these\nchanges will enhance the safety of aircraft operations by lowering the possibility of runway incursions at the Taxiway B South and\nRunway 15-33 intersection. The Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport is a\nsignificant transportation asset and economic engine for Western Massachusetts,\nsupporting about 2,100 direct and indirect jobs, an annual economic output of\n$236 million, and serving business, corporate, emergency, military, and\nrecreational flyers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a longtime supporter of Barnes and the capable airmen\nand women who support and defend the Commonwealth and this nation, I was\nthrilled to join Adjutant General Keefe and Colonel Halasi-Kun last May to\nannounce the assignment of a new fleet of F-35A aircraft to Barnes. Just one\nyear later, we are breaking ground on a project that will prepare Barnes to\nreceive the new aircraft, guaranteeing the long-term viability of the base and\nensuring the 104th Fighter Wing can continue its vital mission for years to\ncome,\u201d said Congressman Richard E. Neal. \u201cEnsuring the sustainability of both\nBarnes Air National Guard Base and Westover Air Reserve Base has been a top\npriority of mine throughout my time in Congress. I am pleased to partake in the\ngroundbreaking of yet another project, one that will play a vital role in\nimproving airfield safety for civilian and military operations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo above &#8211; FAA New England Regional Administrator Colleen D&#8217;Alessandro addresses attendees.&nbsp; The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is celebrating the groundbreaking of the Taxiway B South project at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Western Massachusetts. Airport officials broke ground on the $32 million project on Monday, May 13, at a ceremony attended by elected officials, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":28691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-airports","category-massachusetts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/240513-Z-DY432-2067-edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28710"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28714,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28710\/revisions\/28714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}