Moving Forward

A $345,000 air terminal construction project beginning this month will continue an ongoing project to upgrade and improve the Eunice Municipal Airport.

Airport manager Drew Miller said the 1,200-square-foot terminal building will replace a temporary structure that was damaged by flooding last August. Federal and state grant money will fund the construction, according to Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot.

Three years ago the original terminal building was torn down after it was inundated with 38 inches of water and a portable building was brought in.

The new terminal will include a training office and handicap access. The Eunice board of aldermen approved the low bid from Steel Construction for the work. Miller said the construction continues an effort by the city to upgrade the airport,

“Last year we finished a $1 million project for main runway overlay improvements. Then we also installed new runway lighting. We’ve also recently spent money on a tree cutting project,” he said. The work has been financed principally with grants.

“In order to maintain an airport like ours, you have to keep looking ahead and applying for grants that will keep the airport up to date and FAA approved, Miller said.  “Our operational budget for a general aviation airport like ours is minimal, so we are always seeking for funding.”

The runway surfacing project was largely funded through a $960,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“Drew does an awesome job with getting federal and state grants,” the mayor said. “Every time I see Drew come to city hall he’s got more money for the airport.”

The terminal that will be replaced has flooded twice during the last four years. It was elevated by more than a foot after flooding in 2013, but that wasn’t enough to prevent a similar problem when torrential rains fell in August, Miller said.

“This time we are building a building of about the same size, but we are locating it in another part of the property which doesn’t flood,” he said. It will be built near a beacon light on the northwest corner of the aircraft parking pad.

The airport is mostly used by single engine and propeller-driven aircraft, but it can accommodate small jet planes.

“The jets that do fly in here are corporate, maybe from the legal professions and maybe the hospital,” Miller said.

He said the main 5,000-foot runway, which runs north and south, “is a pretty good size runway for a general aviation airport like ours.

“Right now, there is really no need to undertake a runway expansion project,” he said “ It’s an awesome airport for what it is designed to do,” he said.

Although used mostly as a general aviation airport, it is important to Eunice because of its use in an emergency, its business traffic and its use by tourists, according to Miller, who has been airport director for more than three decades.

“Lots of people come in for Mardi Gras,” he said as an example of the tourist use.

The airport has a total employment of 23, which is primarily support staff, with a total payroll of $715,000. More than 30 aircraft are housed in airport hangars and fuel sales contribute to income.