State grant funds Ephrata port project

EPHRATA - The state Department of Transportation will help pay for a taxiway rehabilitation project at the Port of Ephrata.

Port Manager Mike Wren said this week the agency recently awarded the port a $112,000 aviation grant. The funds are earmarked for a $2.1 million project that involves building a new taxiway and repairing a section of an older taxiway, he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration last year agreed to fund 90 percent of the project, if the port picked up the other 10 percent

"Traditionally, we would want to split the 10 percent with the state if they have the funds," he said.

Since WSDOT awarded the $112,000 grant, the port will end up putting the same amount toward the project, Wren said.

Wren said engineering costs for the project are currently estimated at $217,038. Actual construction costs are estimated at $1.9 million, he said.

Crews from Wenatchee-based Hurst Construction began work last month. Wren said construction should be complete by October.

The project will rehabilitate Taxiway A2 and B, he said.

"Taxiway A2 was redone in 1994, and Taxiway B has been there since the 1940s and it's never been rebuilt," Wren said.

The two taxiways are served by a runway rebuilt in 2004.

"You have to make sure you maintain good access to runways, that's what the taxiways are for," he said. "So, what this does is give us good pavement to the runways."

The project also includes adding a midfield taxiway, Wren said. That means planes can turn around midfield and go back to take off instead of having to go all the way down to the other end of the runway, he said.

"It's a more efficient use of the runway and it keeps it clear, faster," Wren said.

The project will also create more space south of the new taxiway, he said.

"That will make a great spot for new hangars," Wren said.