$4.5M arriving to Erie-Ottawa International Airport

PORT CLINTON — Industry leaders and jet-setting tourists will have easier access to the region thanks to $4.5 million in grants for upgrades soon arriving at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport. Federal grant: $3.5 millionA Federal Aviation Administration award given to local officials calls for linking the airport's two taxiways.A taxiway, or designated aircraft path, joins runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other related facilities."This grant will connect the Echo Taxiway to the Charlie Taxiway, which allows access to 20 acres of airport-owned land that can be developed for additional hangar space," airport director Stan Gebhardt said. "We currently are nearly built out on taxiway accessible areas."This grant also provides funding for increasing the airport's ramp area, near the terminal, by 60 percent to accommodate "the increasing number of regional jets visiting our area," Gebhardt said.Many companies, including those headquartered in the region — Coles Energy, Ohio Edison and ThorSport Racing, among others — depend on the airport when their executives conduct business.Construction on these activities could start later this year but will end sometime by mid-2020, Gebhardt said."Charter and regional jet arrivals have increased by approximately 95 percent over the last six years," he said.All told — during summertime over the past couple of years — anywhere between 600 and 800 planes each month touch down at the airport. That's double from monthly plane traffic in 2010.The airport generates money through various means, mostly from renting hangar space and dispensing fuel. More planes landing at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport means additional income for airport operations, thus ensuring its long-term sustainability, Gebhardt said.State grant: $1 millionThe state transportation department recently awarded the Erie-Ottawa International Airport with $1 million for a lighting upgrade."This grant will replace the 30-plus-year-old existing system, still using incandescent bulbs and direct buried cable, with energy-efficient new technology lighting," Gebhardt said. "This grant will improve our runway lighting reliability with the updated equipment and reduce our energy consumption."Work should start and end in 2020."We are excited to receive the funding for these needed projects to continue our growth," Gebhardt said.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.The Erie-Ottawa International Airport recently received two grants, collectively totaling $4.5 million, for various improvements at the Port Clinton-based facility.