Waco Regional Airport lifts off with latest improvement

WACO - ​​​A $5.2 million project to improve runway tie-ins at Waco Regional Airport is underway.

This represents the latest in upgrades valued at more than $40 million aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of the airport. 

The facility handles nearly 68,000 passengers annually.

The city has identified another $19 million in projects it would like to start, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) likely covering 90 percent of the cost, said Joel Martinez, aviation director and manager of Waco Regional since 2008.

The city will spend about $600,000 on a ten-year blueprint, which will try and make the airport even more of a community asset.​

For now, crews are putting the finishing touches on taxiway tie-ins for the airport’s 5,800-foot-long secondary runway, which serves as a backup to the 7,100-foot-long main runway and can relieve congestion by serving the needs of general aviation traffic, including private planes and small jets.

The FAA, which collects fees on ticket sales, is paying 90 percent of the $5.2 million price for the most recent work. 

The project will improve access to the secondary runway from taxiways that have been reconfigured.

Crews are expected to complete the project by the end of June.

Other projects that are in the airport’s future include a new carwash for the rental car agencies, runway extension and fortification, drainage improvement, and numerous other smaller projects. ​