Airport expands facilities to accommodate area's growth
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

Staff Photo by Benjamin Sharp Employees hired by BLS Construction of El Campo set framework for the concrete slab of a new hangar now being built at the Wharton Regional Airport.

Wharton Regional Airport officials are hoping a series of improvement projects will help the facility take off to the future.

"As Wharton grows, the use of the airport is going to grow," said Glenn Erdelt, an airport board member.

Crews with BLS services this week set the forms for the foundation of a new hangar.

Concrete will be poured Monday on the 240 foot by 75 foot facility, which will house corporate aircraft in four individual hangars.

It's no accident the building is being built to accommodate corporate jets.

"The purpose was to get those large aircraft in there that burn more fuel so they'll buy more (fuel) from us," Erdelt said.

The project is one facet of the airport board's five year "development plan."

A new terminal building is perhaps the largest item on that list, anticipated to cost some $900,000.

Wharton City Manager Andres Garza Jr. said the city plans to go out for bids in October for the new terminal.

This is part of the airport's "vision for the future," Garza said.

Funding for the terminal will come out of a $2 million city bond package issued in 2006. The bonds were also earmarked for city drainage projects, a new police department/municipal court and improvements to downtown sidewalks to make them Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.

On the hangar, a large chunk of funding will come from the state, specifically through the Non-Primary Entitlement funds administered by the Texas Department of Transportation's Aviation Division.

NPE funds are expected to cover over $400,000 of the total $520,000 bill.

Another $100,000 will be provided by the Wharton Economic Development Corp.

Garza said the new hangar is a step in the right direction.

"It is geared more toward the corporate type of business," he said.

There should be no problems filling the new hangar, either.

"There are already a lot of people on the waiting list for those spaces," Erdelt said.

Future improvements include drainage projects and possibly a new GPS approach.

City officials are expected to meet with TxDOT engineers soon to map out the drainage changes.

"Everything is going ahead as planned," Erdelt said.

"There's a lot of plans out there."