STARKVILLE — The George M. Bryan Airport is due for some significant changes in the next two years, according to Airport Director Rodney Lincoln.
Lincoln discussed plans for the airport’s new terminal, extended runway, and major ramp project at a board of aldermen work session Friday morning at City Hall.
Lincoln said the airport received $4.5 million in Federal Aviation Administration Airport Terminal Program grants in February for a new passenger terminal.
He displayed the current plans for the new terminal that were created by Seay Seay & Litchfield Architects. Current plans are to build a 9,800-square-foot two story terminal. The bottom floor will include a passenger terminal and offices, and the top story will include a restaurant and porch area.
“This is our competition, in our mind, terminal building wise,” Lincoln said, likening the current Starkville terminal to the “caboose of the train” compared to facilities in other SEC towns. “We have folks going to the SEC games elsewhere, and I will tell you that for a number of years, the terminal at the Starkville airport has been bringing up the rear.”
Lincoln displayed a terminal from Auburn, Alabama, calling it the “crown jewel of the SEC.”
Lincoln said the design for the new terminal will draw on the mistakes and successes of Auburn’s airport terminal, along with in-state terminals in Raymond, Oxford and Madison.
Mayor Lynn Spruill expressed excitement about the new terminal and how it will contribute to both the city and the university.
“The reality is, this is a joint program and is a joint asset that we share with Mississippi State, and it’s become more and more important to Mississippi State through the Raspett lab and the things that are going on there through their experimental program,” Spruill said. “It’s got nothing but growth ahead of it. I think adding that terminal is going to bring us, instead of the caboose, toward engine status, which is wonderful.”
Ward 3 Alderman Jeffrey Rupp said he hopes this terminal will make Starkville better able to compete with the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, along with the others in the SEC.
“This terminal is going to bring us jet traffic that at this point is going to go to Triangle (Golden Triangle Regional Airport),” Rupp said.
“Because they have better amenities out there and that sort of thing. I don’t think they have better ramp service, but they have better amenities and that sort of thing … they just expect more than what we have.”
The terminal project should have received bids from engineers by July 31, Lincoln said. The terminal is expected to be completed within the next two years.
Lincoln also updated the aldermen on the 1,000-foot extension of the airport’s runway, which is finally going through after almost 10 years of delays in purchasing land directly south of the airport. The airport is finally in the design phase for this project, according to Lincoln.
The land purchase finally went through last fall.
When the runway extension is completed, the airport layout plan will be updated to include its 6,550-foot length. The last time the master plan for the airport was changed was in 2013, Lincoln said.
The airport is also working on a main ramp expansion project, which will expand the ramp space of the airport by 81 percent, Lincoln said.
The airport is still seeking funding for the project but has “just applied” for a $190,000 Mississippi Department of Transportation grant for the design work.
The new terminal, extended runway, and ramp project should all be completed by 2025, Lincoln told The Dispatch after the meeting.
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