River Cities Business Journal: Construction

News-West

BULLHEAD CITY - Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport has two major projects going on simultaneously - remodeling and constructing an addition to the terminal building and a runway rehabilitation.

Crews are working 24-7 to complete the runway project in two weeks. The $7.5 million rehabilitation involves milling 3-5 inches off the surface and replacing it with new asphalt. The runway and parallel taxiway were shifted 500 feet to the south to allow for a required 1,000 foot safety buffer area to the north.

“It's the slower part of the year” for the airport which is why this two-week period was selected for the project, said David Gaines, airport director.

The main runway closed Dec. 9 and the parallel taxiway was re-marked as a 4,500-foot runway for Federal Express planes and small aircraft to use during daylight hours. Jet airliners landed in Las Vegas and casino customers were bused to Laughlin, Gaines said.

The $3 million terminal project was expected to be completed in January, according to Gaines. A 5,000-square-foot addition will increase the size of the terminal by 50 percent.

The existing terminal is also being remodeled. Large windows will let in more light, saving on electricity bills. Automatic doors have been installed at the entrance to the building.

There are check-in counters for four airlines and added space for the TSA's (Transportation Security Administration) state-of-the-art baggage screening system. The TSA gets 1,000 square feet of space to use for offices and training.

“All of this is intended to increase our ability to process the large number of passengers that we have,” Gaines said.

The passenger “cueing capability” is improved by getting “the traveling public off the street and off the sidewalks, getting them inside the terminal building,” he said. The car rental companies also got new office space “and some cueing space that doesn't conflict with the cueing space for check in with the airlines.”

The restrooms were also remodeled. Both projects was primarily funded by FAA grants, which cover 95 percent of the total cost. The remaining 5 percent was split between the airport and the Arizona Department of Transportation's aeronautics division.