ASHLAND — A terminal access road connecting the Ashland County Airport to U.S. Route 42 is one step closer to coming to fruition.
The Ashland County Board of Commissioners took action on April 16 and approved three grant agreements with the Ohio Department of Transportation Office of Aviation. Two of the three agreements involve rehabilitation of an existing road that extends from the airport entrance to the skydivers’ hangar.
The third grant agreement involves land acquisition for additional airport property.
Below are the amounts of each grant agreement, approved April 16, between ODOT’s Office of Aviation and the Ashland County Airport Authority:
- Phase One of access road rehabilitation: $13,493.
- Phase Two of access road rehabilitation: $27,482.
- Land acquisition: $13,926.
The board functioned as the sponsor for the airport authority to submit the grant applications.
Once the existing road is rehabilitated, a new road that connects the airport to U.S. Route 42 — a project that has been in the works for years — will be constructed.
Commissioner Michael Welch said on April 16 that construction is anticipated to begin June 1.
“It’s going to open up more frontage there that potentially there will be more hangar space,” Welch said. “They’re still trying to get a Part 141 flight school in there. They’re still working at it.”
The airport authority began acquiring the 25 acres needed for the road in 2020 through Federal Aviation Administration grants, according to previous reporting. The road has been designed and engineered, efforts covered with an additional $75,000 grant in 2022.
The project has been and will continue to be funded through a mix of federal, state and local money, Denny Baum, the airport’s manager, said in November 2025. The lion’s share, 90 percent, will come from Federal Aviation Administration grant dollars.
Below are the estimated costs for each portion of the project, according to commissioners:
- Phase One of access road rehabilitation: $269,878.
- Phase Two of access road rehabilitation: $549,650.
- Land acquisition: $278,535.
“This has been in the works for a long time,” Commissioner James Justice said. “(It) will make access so much easier for people to find and to use.”
The land acquisition portion of the project involves purchasing an existing hangar at the airport, Welch said. Baum used to personally use the hangar to complete airplane maintenance work, the commissioner said.
