Airport entrance project moving ahead
WAYNESBURG – Greene County Commissioners will open bids next month for the construction of a new intersection on Route 21 at the county airport’s entrance, part of a plan to open airport property to commercial development and possibly a new restaurant.
The commissioners will open bids for the intersection and its accompanying traffic signals Feb. 2. A contract will be awarded after proposals are reviewed by engineers and the state Department of Transportation.
“We are supposed to break ground in the spring,” Commissioner Blair Zimmerman said following Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting.
Delta Development, which is assisting the county in efforts to maximizing grant funding for the project, is just finishing up “getting all the T’s crossed and I’s dotted,” Zimmerman said.
The project has been in the works for at a number of years and earlier involved the demolition of four old airplane hangars and construction of a T-hangar.
The new intersection will realign the airport entrance road with Murtha Drive and make a four-way intersection at Murtha Drive and Route 21.
The project also will include construction of an internal airport road and parking lot.
The internal road will run roughly parallel to Route 21, west from the new entrance to the three, two-acre parcels that will be available for commercial development fronting Route 21 and east to the airport administration building and the new parking lot.
Pennoni Engineering is completing design of the internal road and obtaining required permits, county Chief Clerk Jeff Marshall said. Bids for construction of the internal road and parking lot are expected to be advertised in the spring.
The county hopes to have all infrastructure for the project completed this construction season, Marshall said.
The county earlier hired the real estate firm Burns & Scalo to market the three, two-acre lots that will be available for lease fronting Route 21.
The commissioners repeatedly said they expect at least one of the tenants to be a family-style, sit-down restaurant. Leasing the properties also is expected to provide a stable revenue stream to help fund airport operating costs.
The county hopes to complete the project primarily with grants. It now has more than $2.5 million in grant money earmarked for the project, Marshall said.
Delta has been assisting the county on this aspect of the project, making sure the county is “maximizing grant funds and minimizing county funds” for the work,Marshall said.
The county has spent some Act 13 money on engineering work for the project and on hangar construction but hopes it also can obtain grants to recoup those costs, he said.
During a brief commissioners’ meeting, the board appointed Commissioner Dave Coder to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Authority, the agency that coordinates transportation planning for the 10-county region. The board also appointed Coder to SPC’s regional policy advisory committee and corporation board and executive commission. Coder served as chairman of the SPC for two terms when he previously was county commissioner between 1996 and 2010.
Zimmerman also announced the county is now accepting applications from municipalities and nonprofit groups for the county’s recreation grant program. The grants, which have a maximum allotment of $3,000 each, are normally used to make improvements to parks and baseball and soccer fields, he said. Applications for the grants are available from the Department of Parks and Recreation office. The deadline for submitting grant applications is March 1.