To the casual observer, it might look as if there are serious problems at the North Central Airport. The front of the terminal building is demolished and there is debris and mud spattered about and to the right of the building there’s gravel, a little more mud in an area that was once utilized for free parking.

 

To the person that has been following the airport and development throughout the City of Bridgeport, they know it’s just part of the process that will make the airport and, in particular, its terminal and surrounding parking lot, more agreeable to customers.

 

Work is in full swing for a $942,000 contract to Lombardi Construction Company out of Follansbee to do several projects designed by the Thrasher Group that NCWV Airport Director Rick Rock hopes will enhance customer satisfaction and improve operations and appearance. The money being used is from the Airport Improvement Projects (AIP) money awarded to the airport for having 10,000 passengers fly out of Bridgeport on an annual basis.

 

“It’s going on according to schedule. We expect it to be in the punch list mode and completion stage by Jan. 15,” said Rock. “That could change due to the weather, but that’s what we’re aiming for, particularly considering that we had a late start in getting it going. The contractor is doing a good job.”

 

One of the projects that could be done soon is the parking lot on the upper level and near the terminal. For years, that area was graveled, but workers have been clearing and leveling it to make it ready for a freshly paved facility.

 

As for the front of the building, it’s being done to assist large travel groups and others including West Virginia University and Big 12 Conference schools. Already the old canopy has been removed and work is in full swing to put a new canopy in its place. The end result will eliminate a few parking spaces on the opposite side of the terminal, but will allow for buses and other large vehicles to enter and a new traffic pattern in the area.

  

“The height increase will actually allow for three lanes of traffic instead of what we have now, which is really a lane and a half to two lanes depending on what’s going through,” said Rock recently. “It’s going to be extended out to the parking lot to accommodate buses. As it exists now, it’s too low to accommodate buses and if there is bad weather and you’re in a bus that’s a problem.”

 

The terminal building, which Rock said was done in the 1960s, will have windows replaced for energy efficiency. Also, a flat rubber roof on the structure will also be upgraded substantially.

 

One of the main interior improvements is the installation of a baggage carousel to replace the one that’s currently in use. The one being operated right now was done from the original design of the building, said Rock.

 

“We expect that that community will be pleased with the improvements and the new amenities,” said Rock. “This should help from how this facility looks all the way to how efficient we can be as an airport.”