>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Bill Rautenstrauch

The Observer

A major renovation project at the Union County Airport is about to take off.

Union County General Services Manager Dennis Spray said last week the airport's secondary runway will be re-paved its entire length this summer and fall.

"We're going to overlay the whole length with an approximately four-inch lift," Spray said. "Once we get it in, the airport will be in pretty good shape.

The project, which also includes improvements to adjacent taxiways, will cost between $1.2 million and $2 million, with the Federal Aviation Administration paying 95 percent of the cost and the county chipping in the rest.

"That's a darned good deal for us," said Spray.

Rob Norton of the Corvallis office of David Evans and Associates is the consulting engineer for the project.

Spray said construction bids will go out in May. Bids will be awarded in June and work will start in July.

"There's a 90-day window for completion. Hopefully, we'll get it done sooner than that," he said.

The airport was built during World War II as a training facility for the Army Air Corps. At war's end, the military moved out and the City of La Grande took over the facility.

Today, the U.S. Forest Service is a major presence. Firefighting equipment is stored at the airport fire cache and tankers refuel and pick up fire retardant at a station maintained especially for those purposes.

The airport's main runway is 5,600 feet long, enough to accommodate the firefighting aircraft. The secondary runway stretches 3,460 feet.

Before 1988, the airport belonged to the City of La Grande. Union County proposed taking it over, improving it and developing adjacent lands into an industrial park.

A $500,000 bond issue was placed before voters and narrowly approved. The Oregon Economic and Community Development Department kicked in another $500,000 and the federal Economic Development Administration added $1 million more.

Since the county took the airport over, it has built a solid relationship with the FAA, said Spray.

"The people we worked with in the beginning are still there today. The FAA is a good outfit to work with. They're very helpful," he said.

Though the airport lacks a commercial passenger service, Spray said the facility is a vital key to the county's economy.

"It's a busier airport than people think," he said. "We have about 17,000 operations a year, so this (construction project) is good for the whole community."

FedEx and United Parcel Service both have receiving facilities at the airport, and both land a plane a day there. A courier plane for local banks also makes regular runs.

Air Life of Oregon, a medical transport service, has an operations center at the airport. Flight instructors and an airplane mechanic also do business there.

Spray said planes that normally would use the secondary runway will use the main runway while construction takes place.

He added the county will make a special effort to accommodate the Forest Service during fire season.