Jan. 25—CRESTVIEW — Construction of the Foy Shaw Parkway at Bob Sikes Airport (CEW) will be completed in March, Okaloosa County Airports Director Tracy Stage said Friday.
Named after a former Crestview mayor and prominent businessman, the two-lane, 0.8-mile road runs between the intersection of U.S. Highway 90 and Cavalier Drive and the intersection of John Givens Road and Skyline Drive.
Following the end of construction will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony, at which a new entrance sign will be unveiled.
"It will be a substantial monument to signify that the parkway will be the new south industrial access route to Bob Sikes Airport," Stage said.
While Airport Road connects to the north side of the general aviation airport, delivery trucks and other commercial vehicles have been using Shoffner Boulevard or other residential streets to access the airport's south side.
The Florida Department of Transportation provided almost $5.8 million toward the $7.2 million parkway project, with the remainder covered by county airport funds and other local sources.
The total cost consisted of $6.1 million for construction, plus the costs of design, engineering, inspection, post-design, contract administration and other expenses.
At the start of construction about a year ago, crews cut through virgin terrain and removed many trees from the path of the new road.
The road has two 12-foot paved travel lanes with 6-foot shoulders, along with a stormwater management system. It also includes the addition of an eastbound left-turn lane and a westbound right-turn lane along U.S. 90.
Stage praised the project's contractor, Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. of Marianna, for being on time and under budget.
In addition to the parkway, airport officials anticipate the opening of a new school called the Aviation Center of Excellence, possibly in the next month or so. The facility stands near the northwest corner of the airport's runway in the Crestview Technology Air Park.
The school was created through a partnership among the nonprofit HSU Educational Foundation in Fort Walton Beach, Northwest Florida State College and the airport.
It will provide Federal Aviation Administration, industry-recognized certifications in airframe mechanics, power plant mechanics and professional pilot technology.
"We fully expect that addition to the airport will provide a fully-qualified workforce that the airline industry is in demand of," Stage said.
During the next 10 years, project officials anticipate at least 307 students will earn 1,255 FAA industry-recognized certificates, with 184 to be certified in airframe and power plant mechanics and 123 to gain professional pilot certificates.
Officials from the college estimate the Aviation Center of Excellence will yield $29 million in economic impact in terms of wages from the degree completers and those employed in support of the project.
Local tech entrepreneur Paul Hsu is the founder of the Crestview Technology Air Park and the founder and chairman of the HSU Educational Foundation. The foundation empowers teaching excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and offers scholarships and other support for programs "that encourage entrepreneurship, leadership, career technical training, and cultural enrichment," according to the organization's website.
Last summer, the Triumph Gulf Coast Board approved a grant of more than $7 million to NWFSC — the largest grant in the college's history — to help fund the Aviation Center of Excellence. The grant represents 49% of the more than $14 million total cost.
Hsu has supported the college with a build-to-suit lease at the air park to meet the program's needs, and Stage and the county Aviation Board have supported it with the construction of the aviation center's parking lot, according to information from NWFSC.
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