Ground Broken Tuesday After 12 Years Of Planning

City and FAA officials gathered with golden shovels at Pittsfield Municipal Airport (KPSF) in Massachusetts to turn the first dirt on a planned expansion of the facility. The ceremony was the culmination of 12 years of planning.

Pittsfieldc (KPSF) Sectional

Pittsfield began drafting an airport master plan in 1999, which included a 1,000 foot runway expansion, new hangars, work on the terminal building, and improved automobile traffic flow. The FAA is expected to pay about $10 million of the projected $25 million cost, according to iBerkshires.com. The state will chip in $13.5 million and the city will add $3.5 million.

The master plan identified the airport as a major economic driver for the region, and MassDOT officials cited improved safety as one of the primary reasons it had funded the project. MassDOT Secretary Jeffery Mullan said that Governor Deval Patrick considers the expansion to be one of his "signature" projects.

Work is expected to be completed on the new 5,790 foot runway and other improvements in two years.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.pittsfield-ma.org