SPRINGDALE — The terminal for the Springdale Municipal Airport could soon have an entrance that isn’t blocked each weekday by traffic.
The Springdale Airport Commission is planning to build a new access road to the terminal, using federal and state grants, according to Greg Willoughby, commission chairman.
“For three hours a day, the terminal is difficult to get to,” Willoughby said. “We think that is a major issue.”
A new road, beginning further south on Powell Street than the current entrance, would only be used for airport traffic, said Wyman Morgan, city director of administration and financial services. The planned road — estimated to cost $1 million — would be built with grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics, Morgan said.
Traffic at Jones Elementary, located at 900 S. Powell St., can block the entrance to the terminal on Airport Drive, Willoughby said. Parents picking up or dropping off their children use Airport Drive to enter the school.
Emergency vehicles, such as fire and police, have codes to enter gates located at other access points, Willoughby said, but an emergency at the terminal during rush hours would be delayed.
Visitors to the city who land at the airport typically come in the morning, conduct their business and leave in the early afternoon, he said.
“They could be delayed both times,” Willoughby said. “That’s not the image we want to give to our visitors.”
Tommy Lee, who operates Gear Up Pilot Shop and Adventure Flight Aviation at the airport, said he flies all over the country, landing at airports of similar size.
“Everyone tries to put their best foot forward,” Lee said. “This airport needs some work.”
The new road would run between airport grounds and two businesses on Powell, a pallet company and one that makes rubber products, Morgan said. Old fuel storage tanks would be removed, he said, with a new entrance to a newer fuel storage area for Pinnacle Air Services, he said.
Eventually, commissioners want an entrance to the terminal from Robinson Avenue, Willoughby said.
“This will give us a start going that direction,” Willoughby said.
The airport receives grant money from the FAA each year for projects that qualify, Willoughby said. The construction project will overlap the change of federal fiscal years, allowing the commission to use two years of grants on the road, he said.
The federal grant will pay for 90 percent of the cost, with a state grant to pay for the remaining 10 percent, Willoughby said.
“It won’t cost the city a cent,” Willoughby said.
The road actually could help the city, Lee said. The new road would open hangars located along the new road to commercial airport businesses, he said.
Any tax money raised at the airport is rebated to the airport, Lee said.
“That would give the airport a bigger revenue source that might keep them from going to the city to ask for help,” Lee said.