$3.7M federal funding allocated for infrastructure improvements at Southwest Georgia Regional Airport

ALBANY, Ga. – The Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is getting a helping hand for improvements thanks to some major funding.

Albany Public Transportation Director, David Hamilton met with us Tuesday afternoon to talk about the $3.7 million that’s being allocated for Southwest Georgia Regional Airport.

“Well, we were fortunate enough to have shovel-ready projects on our capital improvement plan. And, so, once this funding was announced, we were sold, we were ready to go with this project. So, we’re going to use those funds for our cargo ramp expansion,” said David Hamilton, Public Transportation Director, SWGA Regional Airport.

While the changes will be for infrastructure, it’s going to help out as the airstrip expands its capabilities as a delivery hub…

And… adds a few more jobs as well.

“But, we hope the cargo ramp expansion in particular will help us. They’ve been doing a lot of business here. Their business has been increasing over the years. So, this will allow them to expand by using this expansion through the use of the expansion to store this crowd support equipment,” said Hamilton.

When asked about a timeline, Hamilton tells us that they expect to get started on the infrastructure upgrades very soon.

“Well, we hope to begin the project in late October, early November. And… during that timeframe… We hope when we meet with the contractor, we will work around the schedule the existing flight schedule,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton hopes that they’ll be able to get to work on improvements by the end of October as they continue to look for more ways to expand.

The money allocated for Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is part of more than $63 million secured for the state by U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff.

Brian Roche reporting.

Copyright 2024 CBS 44 South Georgia. All rights reserved.