FAA grant will complete airport expansion

Wednesday, June 10, 1998 | 10:09 a.m.

Gibbons & Reed Co. halted construction on a runway extension last July when Wendover could not pay the bills. The company threatened to sue to retrieve about $3 million in debts from the Utah border city.

The county agreed to take over the project and the debt. The county secured a $400,000 grant from the Utah Community Impact Board in April and that backing allowed the county to borrow $1.2 million from Key Bank.

Then the Rural Development Council granted $500,000 and loaned another $500,000. The county hoped to use that total to match a $1.2 million FAA grant, and Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, announced Tuesday that the FAA had come through.

"The money we gathered up caused this accordion effect of all these grants piling up," said County Commissioner Teryl Hunsaker.

FAA's contribution, plus previous grants, brings the project's total government and bank funding to $6.6 million. That is enough to bring Gibbons & Reed back to work this fall, finish the runway by December and open the airport, said Barry Banks, head of the aviation program for the Wasatch Front Regional Council.

"We're getting ready to hire an airport manager," Banks said.

The Wasatch Front Regional Council is helping Tooele County plan the airport project because the county has no professional transportation staff.

Tuesday's grant is enough for the county to pave the runway to 8,000 feet, though Wendover eventually wants a 10,000-foot runway. Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Utah, is trying to secure another $1.5 million to pay for that work.

Hunsaker said the airport needs a 10,000-foot runway so it could land large jets such as Boeing 737s. It also could be used as an emergency landing strip for Hill Air Force Base's fighter jets. He said the county hopes to use the improved airport to attract industry to Wendover and shake it out of its economic depression.

Wendover started the airport expansion when casinos in neighboring West Wendover, Nev., pledged to fly guests there. The work stopped when the casinos opted out of the charter flights.

Banks said a 10,000-foot runway would attract charter flights on their way to destinations in Nevada, further bolstering the Utah town's economy.

Tooele County should be able to pay off its airport debts through jet-fuel sales, Banks said.