Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Airport Gets $60k Grant

Gurdon's Airport Commission has garnered a grant for $60,000 from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics.

Members of the commission went to Little Rock recently to meet with the ADA and submit a grant proposal.

Commissioner Gary Deaton said the presentation was made by Commissioner Mary Burns, who, he said, also gathered and collated the data, while also writing the grant proposal.

The funds received will be used to asphalt a 30-foot wide two-inch runway next to the existing runway. This will give Lowe Field a 60-foot wide 4,600 feet long runway and complete the second of four phases of renovations at the airport.

Deaton said Burns had handouts detailing the commission's plans for Lowe Field for each of the eight members of the ADA. The panel voted unanimously to approve the grant.

Now, Deaton said, the commission will have to let bids for a contractor to lay the asphalt. The dirt and gravel work has already been done. "Hopefully," he said, "we can save some money by utilizing the city's grader and roller." The airport commission is a department of the City of Gurdon.

Once the second phase of the project is completed, Deaton said, the commission will work on procuring another grant to put a two-inch asphalt overlay over the entire runway, thereby giving it a four-inch depth for larger planes.

The ADA grants are 75-25, with the commission being required to come up with 25 percent of the project costs. This, however, can be done with in-kind labor.

Once phase II is done, air traffic will be able to approach Lowe Field from east to west as well as west to east. There will also be enough room for planes to turn around on the 60-foot wide runway.

Deaton said the commission will apply for the final two grants simultaneously as they are for two separate projects. One of the grants will be to overlay the existing runway while the other will be to put a cap on the new work done.

When phase II is finished, he said, Lowe Field will be able to accommodate business class size aircraft such as Citation jets and King Air planes on a daily basis. On occasion, he said, the field will be able to handle such luxury aircraft as the 70,000 pound Gulfstream.