Upgrades to Arnold Palmer, Rostraver airports completed

The Westmoreland County Airport Authority has completed two airport development projects at facilities in Rostraver and Unity townships.

Final inspections have been completed for construction of a 300-foot runway safety area at Rostraver, and completion of four new aircraft hangars at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, near Latrobe.

"Both of these projects represent significant strides in terms of safety and growth at these airports," said Gene Lakin, the authority's executive director.

Completion of the runway safety area at Rostraver by Allison Park Contractors Inc. means the general aviation airport now has safety areas on both ends of Runway 8/26 that fully comply with Federal Aviation Administration standards.

"The project went very well," said Scott Kunselman of Lee-Simpson Associates, the project's engineer.

The FAA funded 95 percent of the project, which cost about $580,000, with another 2.5 percent of the cost covered by PennDOT's Bureau of Aviation and a matching 2.5 percent local share from the authority's construction fund.

The new hangars at Arnold Palmer Regional are located in the South Hangar Area site, which has its own taxiway access and vehicle access off of Route 981.

Three of the hangars measure 3,500 square feet, and the fourth is about 4,000 square feet. Each is equipped with individual electrical, gas, water and sewerage utilities.

Fifty percent of the $870,000 hangar construction project, completed by New Kensington-based Arcon Contracting, was derived from the state's capital budget, matched by an equal local share from the authority's construction fund.

Lakin said other projects include completion of improvements to runways and the main access road at Arnold Palmer Regional, as well as apron expansion and bypass taxiway improvements at Rostraver.