Upgrades ahead for Gladewater’s airport

A new master plan for Gladewater Municipal Airport will soon be unveiled following a recent meeting between city leaders and representatives from Texas Department of Transportation.
It was TxDOT that funded the newly-installed security fence at the airport through the state agency’s Routine Airport Maintenance Program – a RAMP Grant covered 90 percent of the almost $50,000 pricetag to enclose the field along with an HVAC update and fresh striping of taxiways.
Mayor Brandy Flanagan and City Manager Charlie Smith’s recent dialogue with TxDOT revealed the agency and H.W. Lochner, Inc. are finalizing the engineering firm’s recommended upgrades for the local facility.
“All of that is regulated through TxDOT,” Smith said. “They require you do a master plan. That’s what we were catching up on.”
The latest update has been in the works for more than eight months, he added.
“It’s back and forth between TxDOT and the engineering firm,” with the latest drawings showing spots for new hangars along with utilizing additional areas of the airport property and getting contingency plans on the books.
City Hall is waiting for TxDOT to sign off on the plans. No budget has yet been set for the suggested projects.
Per Flanagan, “It is an absolutely wonderful plan for our city and what we want to do at the airport.”