--
Jun. 10--NORTH KINGSTOWN -- Airport officials this week led local lawmakers on a tour of Quonset State Airport, showing off a new terminal and hangar and previewing additional planned improvements, including a new taxiway.
Kevin Dillon, chief executive officer of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation, took Rep. Laurence W. Ehrhardt, R-North Kingstown, and Sen. James C. Sheehan, D-North Kingstown, on the tour Monday afternoon of the 20,000-square-foot hangar and attached 6,000-square-foot terminal.
The buildings were completed by Alhambra Building Co. last month after the airport broke ground on them last year. They were designed by Earth Tech Architecture and LA Torrado.
The airport's new terminal contains a passenger lobby, service counter, pilot lounge, flight kitchen and office space. The hangar can accommodate large corporate jets.
The work also included construction of a new parking lot, a new aircraft apron and landscaping.
The improvements at Quonset will continue with the reconstruction of taxiway A, a paved surface about 2,600 feet long and 75 feet wide. The state airport corporation was recently awarded $3.5 million in federal stimulus funds for the work. That project is currently in the bidding process, according to Rebecca M. Pazienza, community affairs manager for the corporation.
Quonset State Airport, which is operated by the private company Landmark Aviation, is the largest corporate airport in Rhode Island. It is home to both the Air and Army National Guard, which use the facility for training and aviation.
