ASHLAND — The Ashland County Airport is about to get more accessible — for cars and trucks at least.
The Ashland County Board of Commissioners approved a $75,375 grant agreement between the Ashland County Airport Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday.
The approval is the latest move for a project that started in 2020.
The grant will cover the cost of engineering a paved road expected to connect U.S. Route 42 to the current entrance on County Road 1102, said Tom Zupan, a trustee of the airport authority.
The authority hired Columbus-based Stantec Engineering for the planning of the road.
“Once complete, the job has to be put up for public bidding,” Zupan said. “Once bids are in, another grant approval process must be completed before the construction is awarded.”
Zupan expects the construction grant application to be submitted in December, with formal FAA approval in mid April 2023, followed by construction with completion likely later that summer.
The FAA grant will cover 90% of the engineering cost, leaving the rest of the 10% for state and local matches. Commissioner Mike Welch said the airport authority has agreed to pay the county’s local match.
New terminal?
The access road project is separate from ongoing plans to build a new terminal at the airport, which initially had a price tag of $572,000.
Zupan presented the idea to commissioners in October 2021 and requested an allocation of American Rescue Plan Act money to cover the cost.
Since then, Zupan said the authority’s preliminary design concept provided a $1.3 million estimate for the new building meant to replace the existing 900 square-foot facility originally built in 1972.
The authority has started a capital campaign to raise funds. So far, commissioners have agreed to award $550,000 of ARPA funds to the project. Zupan said the authority was also awarded $150,000 from the State of Ohio Capital Grants program.
He said the authority awaits to hear about an additional grant request from the Ohio Site Inventory Program.
“We do not intend to proceed with architectural work on the facility until funding is secured,” he said.
Zupan said the airport also has yearly FAA entitlement funds in the amount of $150,000. A supplemental allocation of $159,000 is available from 2022 through 2026 through the federal infrastructure bill that can be used for capital repairs, improvements and land acquisition.
“The allocations can accumulate and carry forward for up to three years,” he said.
