Dignitaries Come Together To Celebrate New Terminal at North Central West Virginia Airport
BRIDGEPORT — David and Rebecca Nay fly out of the North Central West Virginia Airport twice a year.
“We do love telling the stories to people, our airport at the old one is so little,” Rebecca said. “You have to go out on the curb on the outside to get your luggage when you land. We love telling that story. Now, we can’t tell that story.”
The Nays, who live in Lumberport, were among the 100 or so visitors to celebrate the opening of the new terminal opening on Monday. State and community leaders like Gov. Patrick Morrisey and Marion County Commissioner Ernie VanGilder joined Airport Director Rick Rock to open the terminal with a ribbon cutting and catering provided by Muriel’s Italian Kitchen in Fairmont. The Nays heard about the ribbon cutting from Facebook and decided to attend. They wanted to see the crown jewel of North Central West Virginia aviation for themselves.
“Oh my god. This is way better,” Rebecca said. “We love it. We love the innovation in it.”
Monday marked the culmination of an eight-year long effort to build the new terminal.
More than 3 million cubic yards of dirt were moved from a mountaintop as part of the $70 million project to develop the land where the terminal was built. Airport Deputy Director Shawn Long said there was more than $100 million in projects that led to the terminal opening. Additional infrastructure, like a new access road, parking lot, loop road and traffic signal had to be installed to make the terminal accessible to the public.
Rock views the airport as an engine for economic growth, which more importantly, would bring back people to West Virginia.
“It makes West Virginia more viable,” Rock said. “Hopefully it’ll bring a lot more people in from the tourism standpoints, and we want to connect cities. We know West Virginians have been exported everywhere. The low hanging fruit for me is bringing them home, what’s the easiest way to get them home and then, bring their friends with them.”
Rock said the boost to tourism the airport will bring will also showcase West Virginia as a great place to live, which will hopefully help grow the state’s population. Rock said he wants the airport to help not just Harrison County, but surrounding Taylor, Marion, Monongalia, Barbour, Upshur, Randolph and Wetzel counties as well.
Rock said he wants to grow the airport’s service as well, adding destinations and airlines to the airport. The previous terminal’s size limited how many airlines could fly out of Bridgeport, leaving it stuck with two. Rock said with more places to park airplanes and people, he hopes the airport can eventually serve multiple airlines. Rock has been flying across the country working to connect with more airline partners.
Much talk circulated among guests around the $1 billion contract Pratt & Whitney Canada signed to overhaul aircraft engines for the military at its facility next to the airport. It’s just one piece of economic growth connected to the airport. Rock said an economic impact study done by West Virginia University found the airport expects to grow another $600 million from the expansion of aviation related industries around the facility.
“It’s gonna have a huge economic impact, especially with the ancillary businesses and companies that come from it,” Harrison County Economic Development Corp Executive Director Amy Haberbosch-Wilson said. “We reach 22 counties, so that means 22 counties people are coming to fly out of this airport. We also have the availability of the open land to market, which means more growth, more development. We’re going to see a spur in development of industrial, manufacturing. Additional companies want to locate here because we have an educational aspect.”
Haberbosch-Wilson said the airport will also drive demand for more housing, leading to an increase in available housing.
For their part, the Nays are excited at the prospect of not having to drive an hour and half to Pittsburgh to catch their flights should service expand at the airport. They see the airport helping all the surrounding businesses. However, they’re going to miss the old terminal.
One of their favorite things about the old building is the restaurant that is open to the public where people can eat and watch planes depart without having to go through security. They’ll also miss walking out onto the tarmac and boarding the plane up a mobile staircase.
“We’re going to miss the old building, the novelty,” David Nay said. “It’s a small little airport, it’s just been there forever. It feels like it was part of the family, you know what I mean. I hate to see it go, but this is great.”
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