Authority OKs $5.8M in contracts for Arnold Palmer airport terminal, runway expansions

The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is moving ahead with interior and exterior improvements at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, at a cost of about $5.8 million.

The authority this week awarded contracts for expanding the passenger holding room and for continuing widening and strengthening of the runway at the Unity airport. State funding is expected to cover about $400,000 of the more than $900,000 in costs associated with expanding the holding area by 50%.

Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said the increase, to about 300 seats, should be able to accommodate travelers waiting simultaneously to board two flights of Spirit Airlines, the airport’s sole commercial carrier. In the short term, he said, it will help passengers maintain social distancing during the covid-19 pandemic that has decreased flight bookings at the Palmer facility and across the air travel industry.

According to Monzo, Spirit flights from the airport to Myrtle Beach, S.C., range between 60% and 80% of capacity while flights to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale are at less than 50% of capacity.

The airport’s passenger totals have been slowly recovering after Spirit temporarily suspended flights at the airport for most of April. The airport served 11,501 passengers in July, up from just 423 in April but substantially down from 27,637 in July 2019.

“We were very fortunate to be able to utilize the slowdown to be able to expand the facilities,” Monzo said. “With those projects and the runway widening, it will position us to expand aviation services well into the future.”

The authority awarded four contracts for changes at the terminal: ABS Building Systems Integrators of McKeesport, $449,870 for general construction and $30,525 for plumbing; SSM Industries of Latrobe, $222,475 for HVAC; Darr Construction of Berlin, $218,00 for electrical work.

Expansion of the secure holding area will include relocation of an associated cafe and will displace the airport’s rental car offices, which will shift to a new 2,000-square-foot addition along an outer wall of the baggage return area, according to authority engineer Scott Kunselman.

The authority expects to open bids on Aug. 27 for reconstruction of an adjacent rental-car parking area.

“We’re going to tear it all out because it’s broken up and it’s not divided real well,” Kunselman said, noting the project will add a few parking spaces.

Kunselman reported Golden Triangle Construction is about 65% complete with initial work to widen the Palmer airport runway from 100 feet to 150 feet. The authority approved Derry Construction to pick up the next phase of the project, which includes adding a 3-inch layer of pavement to strengthen the runway, at a cost of about $4.9 million.

Federal Aviation Administration funding is expected to cover the project costs.

If the grant is received in time, the contractors will complete the bulk of remaining work during a scheduled runway shutdown Sept. 9-25. Kunselman said the authority will save nearly $1.2 million by consolidating similar work, including pavement markings, between the two contractors.

The authority also plans to strengthen the terminal apron, replacing asphalt with sturdier concrete, during the shutdown. The authority approved the second-lowest bidder, Golden Triangle, to take over the apron work at a cost of $452,920.

Kunselman said the low bidder, Lutterman Excavating, was unable to find a concrete supplier that would meet specifications. He said state funding will cover half of the $40,000 difference between the bids.

Monzo has noted the runway widening will make it easier for pilots to land at the airport during inclement weather while the strengthened surfaces will hold up better under Spirit’s larger, heavier jets.