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Plans for New Airport Terminal Taking Off

MONTOURSVILLE — Plans for a new airport terminal in Lycoming County are taking off. The current terminal is outdated and a new one could lead to bigger th...

MONTOURSVILLE -- Plans for a new airport terminal in Lycoming County are taking off.

The current terminal is outdated and a new one could lead to bigger things, according to county officials.

It is Anthony Fagiolo's first time at the Williamsport Regional Airport in Montoursville. Fagiolo flew in for business from Arizona and noticed the 60-plus year old terminal building is showing its age.

"It's not bad, kinda small, a lot different from what I've seen around the country," said Fagiolo.

Passengers are not the only ones who have noticed the airport terminal is lacking. Officials said there are roof problems and issues with heating and cooling systems.

So plans are in the works to start fresh with a new terminal that could feature a look that includes timber and glass.

"It's the first thing they see, the front door to the community, you don't want to see a bad-looking building as the first impression of the Williamsport area," said Mark Murawski, chair of the airport authority.

The airport authority is receiving $1 million from the county for the new terminal's design phase. It is money from the natural gas impact fee the state imposed on each gas well.

"Over half of our traffic is Marcellus (Shale) related at the airport, we're looking to recruit additional airlines to serve the airport, in order to do that, we need new space to accommodate those airlines," said Murawski.

Early plans for a new terminal at the Williamsport Regional Airport include keeping just the air traffic control tower, it would get a facelift. But everything else would be replaced with a whole new look.

Construction on a new airport terminal would start in 2014 and cost about $13 million, according to officials who say they want to pay for the project with local, state and federal money.

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