Augusta Regional Airport, Georgia, USA

Augusta Regional Airport is a small municipal airport, situated around six miles (10km) south of the City of Augusta in Georgia, USA. The airport's business has increased over the last few years and a major expansion project was completed in 2008 in the hope of attracting passengers away from Columbia and Atlanta Airports.

The airport is located on a 1,411-acre site and is a publicly owned facility managed and operated on behalf of the City of Augusta.

Augusta Regional Airport has two runways, perpendicular to one another (17/35: 8,001ft×150ft (2,439m×46m) and 8/26: 6,002ft×150ft (1,829m×46m). The main runway 17/35 is used for 95% of all flights but when there is a strong crosswind runway 8/26 is used.

Before the recent renovation project started there was some controversy over a plan to build the new terminal in a mid-field position effectively on top of the crosswind runway (this was not well received by some, believing that safety would suffer).

In 2006 there were 140,987 enplanements, which increased to 160,103 in 2007. Passenger numbers were 276,380 in 2006, rising to 316,752 in 2007. Between 2007 and 2009 the number of passengers increased by 25%.

Augusta master plan

In 2002 it was decided that Augusta Airport needed to be expanded and reconfigured in order to remain competitive in the future. A master plan was developed by the LPA Group Inc, which required the replacement of the old terminal with one of similar size and very little further expansion.

By the time funding had become available to start the project the original master plan had been voted down by the Augusta Aviation Commission and a new master plan had been commissioned from the aviation consultants Black and Veatch.

This new plan called for a new expanded terminal building on a mid-field site, new parking areas, new entrance roads and the construction of a second 6,000ft parallel runway to partner 17/35 (which would require the purchase of additional land). The entire plan was costed at over $100m. Accordingly the plan has proceeded in phases.

Terminal construction

The construction of the new terminal building began in 2005 on the footprint of the old terminal with funds available from federal sources, airport funds, passenger facility charge and also an airport revenue bond issue (funds required were $30m).

The plan initially leaves the crosswind runway alone (this is still in operation particularly for light aircraft) and plans for its later replacement with a new parallel runway when additional funds are available.

The new terminal building and associated airport facilities were the priority.

Phase one of the project involved the construction of a new concourse which was completed in early 2006 and then formed the basis of the temporary facilities in conjunction with existing hold rooms (the south hold room became the ticketing area and the north hold room the baggage claim area).

Phase two started in early 2006 and involved the demolition of the existing terminal building and the completion of temporary facilities. Phase three involved the construction of the new terminal building (completed by June 2007). The Fourth phase of construction began in October 2007 and involved the upgrade of the main terminal and the airline gate area by eliminating all temporary facilities and installing landscaping.

The new airport terminal building was opened on 9 December 2007, before it wsa completely finished. The walkway from the main building to the hold room still has plywood walls and an unfinished floor and ceiling. The demolition of the temporary buildings is about to start and then the landscaping on either side of the concourse walkway will be completed.

Augusta Airport facilities

New facilities include a new car rental facility (Thrifty Car Rental was the first tenant but the facility can accommodate five more companies). The baggage claim area has two baggage belts and is situated adjacent to the car rental facility.

The airport has a new core area on the first floor which serves as an area for checking in (there are new e-ticket kiosks and automatic check-in) and security screening (baggage screening) as well as having food concessions for the passengers. Much of the interior fitting out of the airport was carried out by Bonitz Construction of Columbia.

The main contractor for the construction of the terminal building is McKnight Construction. The subcontractors for terminal construction have included: Augusta Fire Protection, Barnett Southern (for site work and civils), J&B Construction (steel construction work), Sack Electric and Thompson Demolition (demolition of temporary buildings and old terminal).

Runway project

A safety project was undertaken on the main runway (17/35) in April 2007 by Beam Contracting to comply with new FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) certification standards relating to overrun at the departure end of the runway. The project was to improve safety by providing a small extension / buffer zone.

In addition in July 2007 the medium approach lighting system was replaced with runway alignment indicator lights (1,000ft of the runway was out of action for the duration of the lighting replacement project – another FAA project).

Federal funding

Augusta Regional Airport executive director Kenneth J Kraemer said the airport received $2,390,549 for the development of an environmental overview, runway 17-35 lighting rehabilitation and a PAPI project, general aviation apron project, and various security projects from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Capital improvements

The hangar 1roof replacement was completed in 2008 and the airport has also launched a rental car service site programme.

In 2009, the AGS will construct a canopy walkway from the terminal to the access road and also plans to relocate the long-term parking to the front of the terminal.