During Tuesday’s Commission meeting, Commissioners unanimously approved accepting $2 million the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Highway Division to fund the construction of the Middle Georgia Regional Airport’s runway extension. This project has been years in the making and the approval of the funds will get this project rolling. 

The process started in 2013 and took several years to complete the steps to justify the extension with both GDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The Extension of Runway 5/23 project is currently in design, and the airport expects to have those plans complete in August, for FAA review and grant fund programming in 2023. 

“The runway extension is important for a variety of reasons, such as improving safety for large aircraft operations, allowing for larger aircraft to land and take off at MCN with full payloads,” said Interim Airport Manager Doug Faour. “It also makes the airport more attractive for commercial airline service to other destinations and increases air-service charter opportunities to other destinations.” 

This would also create access to property and increased demand for additional tenants, on land that is currently not available for development. And the current MROs, such as aircraft maintenance operators, and other tenants would be able to sustain current workloads and expand to other markets. 

“The aerospace industry has proven to be a great fit in our community,” said Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority Executive Director Stephen Adams. “With a longer runway, this will not only help us retain the industry and jobs we currently have, but it could create more opportunities for us to go out, identify, and recruit additional aerospace companies.” 

The first phase of the project will be the construction of a retaining wall near the approach end of Runway 5, which is in the southwest corner of airport property near Sardis Church Road.  The estimated cost for the completed wall is approximately $2,500,000, and only the first section will be underway in late 2022. The design for this phase is underway and construction is expected to start in the fall of 2022.  

The second phase of construction is the actual extension of the runway and the installation of an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS).  The project could start as early as the first quarter of 2023. The extension should be completed in late 2024 or early 2025.