Repair Project at Houlton Airport in Maine to Begin

The thud of pounding hammers will soon intermingle with the roar of airplane engines at Houlton International Airport as the town embarks on an extensive repair project at the facility.

Town councilors recently gave the nod to a Caribou firm to begin reconstructing the airport's apron, an area that abuts the airport's buildings and is used to park and load planes.

The more than $620,000 project will be completed by Soderberg Construction.

Town Manager Douglas Hazlett told councilors that the repairs are desperately needed.

"The apron is in very bad shape," he said. "The money to pay for this project is already in the airport account."

The bulk of the cost of the project will be financed by the Federal Aviation Administration, while the town and state each will contribute a $19,700 match.

The work is part of a number of changes being made to the airport property, which functioned as a World War II air base before being transferred to the town in 1947.

Last fall, the town dipped into $104,000 of its surplus funds to replace the 30-year-old roof on the hangar building at the airport. The decision came after both time and years of heavy rain ravaged the canopy of the 20,000-square-foot hangar. The facility, which houses approximately 24 planes, had been leaking badly for years.

The town is also working with the Houlton-based Southern Aroostook Historical and Art Museum to preserve some of the relics of a former German POW camp that are located near the site.

The camp was operational from 1944 to 1946 and housed thousands of prisoners who picked potatoes, chipped ice and harvested wood to support the Allied troops. Relics left on the grounds include concrete foundations that once supported the buildings.

Museum officials are looking to preserve what remains and also want to create a walking complex at the site.

Hazlett said that the town is hoping to secure additional grant money to pay for more work at the airport in the future.

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