Altoona-Blair Co. Refurbished Runway 'Step In Airport's Evolution'

The Altoona-Blair County Airport held a ribbon cutting for its recently refurbished east-west runway 1230. The runway's completion comes as the airport embarks on a new era of passenger service when Contour Airlines and its 30-passenger jet is slated to become the new carrier beginning in October.

Rep. John Joyce (R-PA, 13th District), whose efforts on behalf of the county's airport resulted in more than $1 million in grant money, said the refurbished runway will allow for more air traffic with improved safety.

"This is state-of-the-art design with the ridges put in, so the water runs off and allows for a safer take-off and a safer landing," Joyce said.

Joyce said the refurbished runway is another step in the airport's evolution of continuing expansion and upgrading that will benefit the entire county.

"This is an avenue to continue to advance both personal travel and business travel here in Blair County," he said. "Businesses need to be able to bring different individuals in to see the great development here. There are many community businesses who utilize the airport. And to be able to use this for personal travel, to make those connections to other airports, you need to have the ability to safely land and take off and that's what this runway project has allowed."

Blair County Commissioner Amy Webster, who is the county liaison to the airport, said the runway project, coupled with the new passenger jet service, is another push forward for the airport.

"This is a great step forward," Webster said. "We are going to have jets now, so this is perfectly timed."

Webster said the progress at the airport contributes to the progress of the entire county.

"We work with a lot of organizations to try to encourage the businesses that we have and encourage them to bring in new business," she said. "It's an opportunity and anything like this is an improvement and it attracts people to the area. This is a great opportunity for all of us here in Blair County."

Airport Manager Tracy Plessinger said the $2.5 million project was done by three contractors, two of which are local. Plessinger said Delta Airport Consultants of Dauphin County handled the design phase while New Enterprise Stone & Lime Co. of Blair County and Cottle's Asphalt Service of Bedford County did the construction work.

Joyce said the improved runway is a springboard for the county calling it a "flight path for the future."