Repair work on the secondary runway has been delayed, according to Airport Engineer Dave Raley, because the Federal Aviation Administration must sign off on the project but seem to be dragging their feet on the request.
The agency is asking for documentation they've never requested before from the airport, Raley said.
The project must be completed before the main runway can be resurfaced, he said.
The repair work is funded by a $200,000 Rural Development grant from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Nearly every other obstacle in the
The North Carolina Aeronautics Council has approved a $2.2 million grant on top of an earlier grant for $1.9 million, according to Paul Smith of engineering firm W.K. Dickson, giving the airport $4.1 million for the runway project.
The airport must now find a 10 percent local match of $455,158.21 and the project will be completely paid for, he said.
Angie Mettlin, who is in charge of finding the local match, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture is likely the best source of funding, which would likely come partially from a grant and partially from a low interest loan.
"We've talked to USDA about the project," she said. "We are just putting the pieces together. We needed wait until the bids came in to see how much of a local match we would need. Now we are ready to move on with this."
Mettlin does nor foresee any issues in getting the funding approved.
This project will give the airport a brand-new, asphalt runway that is 6,500 feet long and 100 feet wide, Smith said. The estimated runway load is about 65,000 pounds in the firms models, but expects the real strength will be about twice that.
There is currently an earmark for $1 million in a defense bill that would fund an additional two-inches of asphalt to be laid on the runway, increasing the anticipated load to 225,000 pounds. The earmark was made by Rep. Larry Kissel and Rep. Mike McIntyre.
The bill has not yet passed.
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