Auburn airport to get new terminal

06/18/2009

By Dan Carsen

After what some have described as decades of waiting, the Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport in Lee County, Ala., will soon have a new terminal.

If the work goes according to schedule, the $4.3 million general aviation building will be completed by Bailey-Harris Construction Co. of Auburn, Ala., within one year. Area dignitaries and officials from Auburn University, Lee County and the cities of Auburn and Opelika broke ground at the airport Thursday afternoon.

“We have over 65,000 aircraft operations every year and, without this addition, we would not have the space or amenities to adequately support our mission," says Bill Hutto, airport director. "But, with this new construction, our dream will become a tangible public benefit."

The new terminal, which will replace a 1950 building Hutto describes as “too small and showing its age,” will cover 26,000 sq ft and be two stories high. Also scheduled to be built are a new taxiing area and an entrance to the airport off Interstate 85.  

Owned by the university, the airport provides a training ground for aviation and airport-management students and a regular airport for the traveling public. There are several large companies in the area that own corporate jets, and the municipalities surrounding the airport see the new terminal as a selling point in recruiting others.

"Modernizing and growing our airport will better reflect the university and community it supports and create a better impression with visitors of what we are really about,” Hutto adds. “This is a huge addition to the university and should serve as an economic tool to help advance our region. It’s a nice new front door to the community.”

Costs are to be divided among the two cities, the county and a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. Hutto says that State Representative and House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard (R – Lee) has been instrumental in providing the airport with roughly $4.7 million in state money for the airport’s buildings and infrastructure in recent years.

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