Upgrades at Danville Regional Airport are cruising along, with remodeling of the northern part of the terminal nearly finished.
That part of the terminal will be complete next week, and work on the southern portion will begin early next month and wrap up by the end of the year, said Danville Transportation Director Marc Adelman.
New furniture will arrive at the airport next week. Also, the terminal will feature 32 enlarged images of tourist attractions within 30 miles of Danville on its walls, Adelman said.
“Every single image identifies what people are looking at,” he said.
Airport customers also will be able to enjoy tourism videos on a large new monitor in the terminal once the project is complete, Adelman said.
The images will include depictions of notable destinations such as the River District, a Caesars Virginia casino rendering, Virginia International Raceway, the Riverwalk Trail, the Danville Science Center, Averett University, The Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, The Prizery in South Boston and other sites.
Airport officials worked with Dodie Hudson, interior designer with Dewberry, on selecting the images, determining their size and where to hang each one. The images were provided chambers of commerce, VIR and other entities and were framed at Hobby Lobby, Adelman said.
Rehab projects at the airport were undertaken to meet increased demand from the Caesars Virginia casino project expected to be complete in 2024. Ground was broken for it Thursday at Schoolfield.
During a tour of the airport Tuesday, Adelman pointed out the progress made on the $1.1 million terminal revamp project.
Work done so far has included renovated conference rooms, a new customer service area for passengers, a new pilots lounge, new ceramic porcelain tile flooring, a quiet area where pilots and passengers can rest, and a new pilot shower area.
The project also includes new ceiling tiles, light fixtures, a renovated kitchen with a dishwasher, a washer and dryer, an ice machine and new countertops.
The lobby area will become the main passenger waiting area to support larger groups of passengers, Adelman said.
“It was re-organized to make more efficient use of our space to support casino traffic,” Adelman said.
The majority of the improvements for the terminal building project were modeled based on a review by Adelman and the airport commission of two FBOs located at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Adelman said. They looked at the FBO counter area, the wide gate allowing buses to come on to the terminal ramp, furniture, kitchen corridor, pilot’s shower, pilot’s lounge and quiet area, he said.
Of the $1.1 million project’s cost, 80% will be covered by the state, with the remainder paid for by the city.
Other parts of the terminal project that remain to be done include a new entrance with sliding glass doors replaced and removal of the fencing and canopy, with a smaller canopy installed in its place outside the terminal. There will also be brick pavers and new pavement to replace the grassy area, Adelman said. Those items will be complete in spring 2023.
Bathrooms will be demolished and renovated.
Also, the fixed-base operator has been working in the main conference room while the FBO office is being revamped.
As for other airport projects, widening of the taxiway was completed last year and officials are waiting on possible approval of Federal Aviation Administration funding for $5 million rehabilitation of the south ramp, Adelman said. Work on the project is expected to begin in October.
A $3 million runway rehabilitation project was completed earlier this month. That included milling and paving of the runway and parallel taxiway. It was the first rehab of that section since 1981, Adelman said.