An $8 million grant funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enables West Virginia International Yeager Airport to begin a major modernization project designed to make its 77-year-old passenger terminal more accessible and passenger-friendly.
The grant, awarded last week by the Federal Aviation Administration, “enables us to make critical improvements that will transform the passenger experience at CRW,” said Dominique Ranieri, director and CEO of the Charleston airport.
The $8 million grant launches the initial phase of the airport’s “CRW Next” terminal development project, which includes remodeling the mezzanine and lobby restrooms and adding a second baggage belt.
That work is expected to get underway in December.
The next expected construction project will be the demolition of two outdated concourses and replacing them with a single state-of-the-art concourse.
Face it: TSA debuts new security screening technology at Yeager, Tri-State airports
With the help of facial recognition technology, the process of clearing the security checkpoints at West Virginia International Yeager Airport and Huntington’s Tri-State Airport has become quicker and more precise. The face screening and other instant identification technology is being implemented by the Transportation Security Administration.
Rendering of West Virginia International Yeager Airport terminal upgrades
This is what the terminal at West Virginia International Yeager Airport would look like after $8 million in upgrades are completed. Funded by the Federal Aviation Administration through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the upgrades are part of the “CRW Next” terminal development project.
Future “CRW Next” projects include:
* Building a new, streamlined security checkpoint
* Making all terminal facilities compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act
* Making apron pavement upgrades
* Realigning Taxiways A and B to optimize operational capabilities and improve safety
* Installing five new boarding gates capable of accessing Boeing 737-700, Airbus A-320 and similar commercial aircraft
In all, the project would add more than 60,000 square feet of floor space to the terminal. The structural additions would include:
* New lobby meeting-and-greeting space
* New seating areas adjacent to boarding gates
* Additional concession/restaurant space
* New post-security restrooms
Total cost for a full CRW Next build-out is estimated to be at least $60 million, to be funded by grants from the FAA’s Airport Terminal Program and Airport Infrastructure Grant program and other federal sources.
More information on the project is available at flycrw.com/terminal-development-project.
Area pilots make flood relief flights to aid Helene survivors
A group of West Virginia private pilots are flying food and supplies collected by Sissonville High School’s Marine Corps Junior ROTC program to small airports in North Carolina and Tennessee for distribution to those in need in the wake of flooding from Hurricane Helene.
West Virginia International Yeager Airport
Passengers stand in line inside the terminal at Charleston’s West Virginia International Yeager Airport in July 2024 to board a Breeze Airlines flight to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
___
(c)2024 The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, W.Va.)
Visit The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, W.Va.) at www.wvgazette.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
