Improvements are expected to begin soon at various airports around the state because of $800,000 in grants from the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.
The grants for West Woodward Municipal Airport, Anadarko Municipal Airport and Clinton Municipal Airport come from the Commission’s three-year Capital Improvement Program or Construction Program.
“Our local airports are gateways to the world for businesses and for the communities where they are located,” said Vic Bird, Director of Aeronautics. “It is important that as a state, we make sure that the Oklahoma Airport System is comprised of airports that are safe and reliable but also, when possible, affords business travelers with modern amenities and conveniences.”
A $475,000 grant is going to the West Woodward Municipal airport and will be used to rehabilitate the secondary runway and the asphalt sections of the parallel taxiway system. The city of Woodward is providing $25,000 in matching funds.
A grant of nearly $220,000 is going to finance new runway lights, a wind cone and beacon at the Anadarko Municipal Airport. The city is picking up the remaining $11,000 in costs.
The final grant, $57,000 will be used to make improvements to the Clinton Municipal airport. The improvements include a seal coat on the airport’s main parking apron and the remarking of the apron. The city will provide $3,000 in matching funds. The project will be the final phase to rehab the entire parking apron. workers have already performed a crack seal after an earlier pavement inspection revealed cracking that produced small gravel. The gravel is known in aviation circles as foreign object debris which can severely damage an aircraft’s engine or propeller.