Airport expansion planned

Albert J. Ellis Airport, which turns 40 next year, has outgrown itself — again.

The airport has expanded six times since opening Feb. 15, 1971, said Airport Director Chris White, who explained passengers arriving and departing the airport last year spent a staggering $65 million in tickets.

The business is there. Now it is time for services to catch up.

“We could support more restaurants, but we don’t have anywhere to put them,” White said.

As any developer can attest, you can’t grow faster than your sewer capacity.

To that end, and since the airport is on its third septic tank, county officials agreed last year with the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority to build a sewer line that will patch the airport into the authority’s new facility being built in Richlands. White said the Federal Aviation Administration is funding the line and ONWASA is building it.

The six-mile line will tie into the new $40 million Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility, which is slated to replace Richlands’ aging wastewater treatment plant, said ONWASA spokeswoman Susan Poole.

The million-gallon regional facility will serve the airport and the town. ONWASA has the option, at its expense, to increase the capacity of the system for future customers.

The project has been designed, bid and is expected to be completed within 250 days of its October begin date, White said.

Once the sewer project is complete, the airport can move on to bigger tasks like building a corporate terminal and a fuel farm among other improvements.

And White would like to see a tower near the tarmac.

“We are one of the busiest airports in the country without an air traffic control tower,” White said.

Airport officials are beginning to take a look at how they want new terminals designed.

“We are being very careful in designing the additions to the airport,” White said. “We are looking at $350 a square foot; you want to get it right.”

White said it is important for county taxpayers to keep in mind that the airport is self-sustaining. Any federal money comes from federal aviation taxes, which are basically user fees.

“This is not a situation where everyone is paying for something a few people use,” he said. “If you don’t fly, you're not paying for it.”