January 27, 2003

Scholes International Airport at Galveston

Scholes International Airport at Galveston is hosting a special celebration at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, February 4, for the completion of the first major capital improvement project at the airport since 1946. 

City, state and federal dignitaries will participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception to mark completion of the $500,000 improvement project to reconstruct taxiways Bravo and Charlie.

The celebration will begin on the airport tarmac. A special highlight will be a dramatic flyover by aircraft from the Lone Star Flight Museum. Following the brief ceremony, guests will gather in the airport terminal lobby for refreshments.  Parking will be available in the north lot adjacent to the main terminal building. Shuttle transportation to the event area will be provided at the terminal building.

The reconstructed taxiways, which were built in 1943 by the U.S. Army Air Corps, were cracked and uneven after years of use. Taxiway Bravo runs north-south and is 2,000 feet long and 50 feet wide. Taxiway Charlie runs east-west and is 350 feet long and 50 feet wide. Design and reconstruction have taken 15 months and approximately 500 truck-loads of cement.

Airport Director Hud Hopkins explained that the taxiway project, which was funded through the U.S. Congress, will be followed by a $2.3 million state-funded project to reconstruct taxiway Delta. Additional funding is projected for other taxiway, apron and drainage improvements.

"Today, the airport is busier than ever with 104,000 take-offs and landings annually," Hopkins said.  "One of the airport's strengths is that it accommodates a full range of aircraft from the smallest fixed-wing Cessna to some of the largest jets, including a Boeing 737."

"Scholes has been an economic engine for this city for more than 70 years and was critical to our nation's war effort during World War II," said Galveston Mayor Roger Quiroga.  "We must invest in Scholes so that it can serve the public, our city and our nation for another century."

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