WESTFIELD — The city will host environmental public hearings Monday and Tuesday — virtually and in person — on three construction projects totaling more than $17 million at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport.
At 2 p.m. Monday, attendees can log onto Microsoft Teams (meeting ID 271 459 792 002, passcode aH3Boq) to learn about the relocation and construction of Taxiway B South, construction of a new taxiway in the airport’s southwest quadrant, and obstruction clearing on Runway 15.
An in-person discussion regarding the same three projects will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Airport Terminal Building Conference Room, 110 Airport Road.
The relocation and construction of Taxiway B South is a $15 million to $16 million project that will create a full-length parallel taxiway for the airport’s primary runway, expanding the current 50-foot-wide taxiway to one that is 75 feet wide with 25-foot shoulders.
The new taxiway in the airport’s southwest quadrant will cost $1.5 million. It’s in an area of the airport where there is interest in creating new hangars. Airport manager Christopher J. Willenborg said the only tenant in that area now is Air Methods, which keeps emergency medical helicopters there.
The Runway 15 obstruction clearing is an estimated $800,000 project to remove trees that have grown into the flight path, Willenborg said. The money will also pay to repave and remove markings that now warn pilots they must land 490 feet farther down the runway. That warning is only there because of the trees obstructing the runway.
All projects will be funded by the state Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and the city.
Taxiway B South also has funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. The work will benefit the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Air National Guard Base, Willenborg said.
The air base is awaiting word sometime later this year on whether it will be selected as a new home for the Pentagon’s latest F-35 fighter jets.
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