June 04--Changes could be coming to the Brownsville-South Padre International Air port after the Brownsville City Commission approved three items dealing with expansion and renovation of the city's airport.
The City Commission approved two land acquisition items during its regular meeting, which Aviation Director Larry Brown said will set the airport up for runway expansion in the future.
Brown said property acquisitions along Indiana Avenue to the south of the airport will allow for the future expansion of the runway to a length of 10,000 or 12,000 feet.
The two lots measure 4.148 and 4.053 acres, respectively, and will cost the city $95,150 and $105,457 to acquire.
Brown said the continued work to the south will allow for growth, which won't only be concentrated to runway expansion.
Another item approved during the meeting awarded a contract to Mansfield-based Airport Technical Support to repair a loading bridge at the airport.
The city will pay Airport Technical Support $77,288 for the repairs, and Brown said he is hoping to construct another loading bridge using Federal Aviation Administration grant funds.
Brown said he'll submit the airport's application for grant funding to the FAA within the next 60 days and that he expects to find out about approval in August.
An additional loading bridge would be necessary for when the airport restores international travel options, Brown told the commission.
Brown also said he's hoping to use FAA funds to begin work in earnest on designing a new look and feel for the terminal.
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