NWF Regional Airport (Fort Walton Beach) to Improve Road, Expand Lots and more

Great job by the Okaloosa County Commissioners for their foresight in improving the NWF Regional Airport. This is just another opportunity and asset this area has to bring more military operations to this area.


NWF Regional Airport to improve roads, expand lots
Kari C. Barlow
2010-01-10 13:07:47

Visitors to Northwest Florida Regional Airport can expect road improvements and expanded parking in 2010. Construction crews are realigning the entrance road into the airport.
“It’ll be less of a turn,” said Okaloosa County Airports Director Greg Donovan. “It’ll be a more gradual turn and will open a brand new taxicab queuing area.” Also under way is the construction of a parking lot where customers can pay with a credit card. “It’s really fast, kind of like an express lot,” Donovan said. The third project is renovations to the complex’s Baldwin Building that will include installation of an emergency generator that could run the entire terminal. Donovan said the three projects are expected to be wrapped up by April or May.
County officials also took steps this week to position the airport for more state funding for improvements by approving several joint participation agreements with the Florida Department of Transportation. Donovan said Okaloosa’s airports also will compete against airports from across the country for Federal Aviation Administration funds to complete the projects.
On the list of possible projects is an interim concourse extension at Northwest Florida Regional.
“We have engineering estimates that put it somewhere around $5 million,” said Donovan, who added that the airport could eventually receive $500,000 in state funding for the project.
The agreements with the DOT are funding mechanisms that allow the airport to plan future projects with specific budgets in mind, he said. Donovan said he plans to complete the projects within the airport’s working budget rather than borrow money. “The bonding process for us translates into higher rates and charges for our tenants, and we don’t want to do that,” he said. “We want to gauge our expenses and not build (unnecessarily).” County Administrator Jim Curry said the planning is vital. “There’s a balance,” he said. “You want to make sure you build sufficiently … but you don’t want to do too much because you want to keep your operational costs down.” Other projects on the priority list include an overhaul of Northwest Florida Regional’s public parking and the widening of taxiways at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview.
The taxiway widening, estimated to cost $2.5 million, is the most critical, Donovan said.
“I anticipate that project could very well be achieved this year,” Donovan said. “The pavement is very old and the intersections are pretty narrow for the kind of airplane we expect up there.”
Curry said the taxiway widening is an example of the long-term investment the county has made at Bob Sikes Airport to attract industry and jobs. “We really believe we’ve got an exceptional complex up there,” he said.