Slidell Airport gets a massive upgrade

The Slidell Municipal Airport has completed several projects totaling $675,000, further enhancing its infrastructure and facilities. In October, work began on resurfacing the airport’s four old and deteriorating aprons, patching, sealing and resurfacing more than 140,000 square feet. The project took about 60 days to complete and cost $400,000, paid for by grants from the Federal Aviation Administration and the State of Louisiana. Crews will be there for the next two weeks striping the asphalt and cleaning up the job site. In addition, a new 800-foot taxi lane was added that will allow aircraft access to St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Control’s new hangar, as well as five additional hangars in the future. A new vehicle parking lot was added at the airport, replacing a much deteriorated one. Finally, the airport completed a $50,000 Airfield Obstruction Survey required by the FAA to ensure safe heights of obstructions on and surrounding the airport. Says Slidell Airport Manager Sam Carver: “These projects were very much needed and part of an aggressive maintenance program we have implemented to maintain the high quality and safety standards that the FAA requires. We are in much better shape now and will be for a long time.” These projects are in addition to the recently completed and federally funded project in which the Slidell Municipal Airport resurfaced its entire runway at a cost of $707,000. In doing so, it became one of the first completed airport projects in the United States under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In recent years, the number of hangers located at the airport has grown from 12 to 33, with the addition of the newly-added 16-unit tee hangar complex and plans to build one additional single-unit hangar. Over the last few years, the Slidell Airport has received over $12 million in federal funds to enhance the facilities and operations of the airport.