The Bartlesville Municipal Airport is bustling this summer – and not just from the flight traffic. Two major projects are in the works, and a national air race will see dozens of female pilots fly through Bartlesville.
A $2 million taxilane project is expected to kick off by late summer or early fall, according to Airport Director Mike Richardson. The project includes construction of an east/west taxiway extending east of the airport’s main taxiway and located northeast of the terminal building. The taxilane will extend into the east side of the airfield which has been identified as a future development opportunity.
“Taxilane are the roads that the aircraft actually travel on when they aren’t landing or taking off,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “This taxilane opens up an entire quadrant of the airport that right now isn’t open for development.”
The $1.5 million construction contract was awarded to R&L Construction in April. Funds for the entire $2 million project (which also includes engineering and grant administration costs) will be funded by a $1.18 million grant from the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, a $737,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, and $101,306 from the City’s Airport Fund.
“We will have minimal taxiway closure(s) later this summer, but no shutdown of the airport runway itself,” Richardson said. “We’re working on mobilization with the subcontractor.”
The east-west taxilane will accommodate up to an Airplane Design Group 3 aircraft (up to a Boeing 737 size) and a 300-foot spur to the south will accommodate Airplane Design Group 2 aircraft (such as a Canadair CRJ).
“If individuals are interested in private hangar development, we’ll have a space that they can build a hangar and the infrastructure to get them to the runway,” Richardson said.
City staff are also working with the FAA, ODAA and Bartlesville Development Authority for development of a nearly 20,000-square-foot hangar that will attach to the new taxilane. The hangar project is currently in design by City consultant Parkhill Engineering.