More improvements are on the way for a county owned, public use airport in eastern North Carolina. Jared Brumbaugh has more.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation has approved $3.6 million for safety and security upgrades at six airports across the state. One of the airports, the Albert J. Ellis Airport in Richlands will receive nearly $865,000 for an extension of the general aviation apron and new hanger sites. $400,000 will go towards the construction of a 90 foot air traffic control tower which broke ground earlier this month. The $4.5 million facility will manage air traffic arriving and departing from the County operated commercial airport. The NCDOT’s Division of Aviation has already provided $2.4 million in grants for the project. Until the tower is finished in late 2018, Ellis Airport is one of the busiest commercial airports in the United States without its own air traffic control tower.