Workers praised for contribution to airport construction project

By Rose Hooper

Jackson County Airport's newly extended and repaved runway is now open for business. "There are absolutely no bumps, dips or cracks - it's smooth as glass," said private pilot Frank Holden, a frequent flier at the local airport. Funding for the three-and-a-half-month project came primarily from federal and state airport improvement grant monies.

This was the first time any airport has used such a reclamation process, said Reg Moody Jr., chairman of the Jackson County Airport Authority.

"The N.C. Department of Transportation and the private contractors who worked on the restoration of the runway at the Jackson County Airport are to be commended for a job well done," said Operations Manager Ron Gamble. "In addition to the new runway, they are responsible for a parking apron and unit ramp with all of the old bumps, dips, cracks and swags removed." Gamble said state assistance came from Bill Williams, director of the division of aviation, Raleigh DOT, and staff members Bobby Watson, Rick Barkes and Marshall Sanderson.

Locally, Gamble praised Ron Watson and the 14th division DOT staff, including Rick Styles and other engineers and Chick Jones, inspector. He also gave credit to Mickey Wilkes and Johnny Metcalf (roadside maintenance), Ron Turpin (sign department), Rick Queen and Ronny Warren (roadside environmental) and their crews, and Kenneth Burrell (equipment department).

"Two mechanics who deserve special mention are Tim Crowe and the late Ben Ray Fisher, who passed away recently" Gamble said. "Bobby Stephens and Rick Barry helped in moving the ton of rock in June and July in some of the driest, 90-degree-plus weather we have seen in Jackson County."

WNC Paving provided "meticulous attention to detail" in paving the runway and ramp area to provide excellent water runoff, Gamble said, and they did not charge for ditching runway sides for underground runway light cables.

Lee and Tom McConnell of Top of the Line Striping brought the airport parking lot back to life with their expert work, Gamble said.

James Buchanan of Savannah Electric and Curtis Lambert of Express Towing assisted Gamble in installing the new runway lighting and the backhoe work required to lay the thousands of feet of underground cable and splicing and connecting all of the new fixtures. Carl Pace of Pace Pavement Technologies out of Pickens, S.C., installed 30 tie down anchors on the parking apron and all of the runway paint striping to conform to the federal aviation regulations for airport safety marking and striping of runways and taxiways, Gamble said.

The large amount of water needed for the project was supplied by Jerry King of the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority, Gamble said.

Gamble and Moody said the efforts of those who worked on the project "made it possible for the citizens of Jackson County to have one of the finest transportation facilities available in North Carolina right here in Jackson County."

"I think the citizens of Jackson County need to know that their local property taxes were unaffected by this project," said Moody. "That's because help from this federal and state airport improvement grant came from aviation user taxes, aviation fuel taxes, airline ticket taxes, and air cargo taxes."

The airport has been indirectly responsible for the new Wal-Mart Supercenter and its magnetic attraction of other businesses locating to Jackson County, including the new Ford dealership and Ryan's Steak House, according to Gamble.

"We hope that the airport brings more private enterprises into the county, along with more job opportunities for our citizens," Gamble said.

Off the air . . .

The WCQS translator at 89.7 FM that serves Cullowhee has been off the air since early October after it was damaged during construction at the Jackson County Airport.

Workers at the airport damaged WCQS's underground cables, disconnected the antenna and dug up the underground vault that housed the station's equipment.

"We hope that we can re-establish our service now that construction is completed" said the station's general manager, Ed Subkis. "We also hope to locate our equipment in a new building that is being constructed at the airport that will be safer and more reliable than our original installation."

WCQS will share an antenna with Ramcell, according to Ron Gamble, airport operations manager.

"WCQS has good overlapping coverage in the Cullowhee area from our translators at 91.5 FM in Sylva and 95.3 FM on Mt. Lyn Lowry near Waynesville. Cullowhee listeners are encouraged to try to listen to WCQS on either of these two frequencies until 89.7 comes back on the air," said Subkis.

Back to Archive: 10/26/00.