Consultants hired by the City of Vicksburg have mapped out a $23.5 million long-range plan for Vicksburg Municipal Airport, adding a new runway capable of handling commercial air traffic.

The 20-year plan was accepted and adopted by the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen at a special called meeting Tuesday at which Mayor Laurence Leyens said the new runway — to be more than a half-mile longer than the existing runway — could be built in the next five years if the city can land competitive Federal Aviation Administration funds.

The airport, constructed in 1950, did have commercial service in the “propeller days” until they ended in the early 1960s.

The plan is another step in the administration’s push to rapidly ramp up the airport, which a previous administration favored closing in favor of Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional, about eight air miles away in Mound, La. The city is a one-fourth owner of that airport with other local governments. About $10 million in federal funds have been spent on initial construction and improvements at VTR since it opened in 1993.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires all airports on the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems to have an airport layout plan to serve as a blueprint for growth. The plan was developed by Jackson-based consultant Neel-Schaffer at a cost of approximately $50,000, said Leyens, and will be paid for via the $150,000 each NPIAS airport receives annually. Vicksburg’s airport was removed from the NPIAS list in 1993, but was added back in 2007.

Plans are for an 8,000-foot runway to be built alongside the 5,000-foot runway, which would become a taxiway. In addition to the runway, the 20-year plan includes the addition of corporate hangars, an aviation industrial park, air cargo capabilities and a $60 million security technology testing facility.

“Some of the items in the plan are realistic and will happen in the next five to 20 years, and some may not happen or may have to be modified to reflect available funding,” said Loyce Clark, who assisted in developing the plan.

Clark, president of Birmingham-based Excel Aviation Consulting Service, was hired by the city as a consultant in October — shortly after the city took over all airport operations and made it an official department of the city. Clark and VMA Manager Curt Follmer, a former casino executive hired by the city in December, took the layout plan to FAA officials in Jackson Tuesday afternoon.

Also included in the plan, said Leyens, is a new port west of the airport that would tie together rail, river and air transportation. Leyens said he is working with the Mississippi Department of Transportation or Mississippi Development Authority to secure approximately $250,000 to fund a feasibility study for an additional slackwater port off the river. The E.W. Haining Industrial Center in north Vicksburg off the Yazoo has provided waterside sites for 50 years, but is at or near capacity.

Leyens said he met with MDA Monday and is trying to have a portion of $3.9 million allocated to Warren County following Hurricane Katrina for the cleaning of bayous reallocated for the feasibility study. Thus far, the county, which applied for and won the grant, has not accepted the money because it would require an agreement to provide continued maintenance.

“MDA and MDOT are both very interested in this; you don’t find river, railroad and airport transportation available in one area everywhere in this country. Intermodal transportation is very rare, it’s very valuable to industry and we have a perfect spot for it,” said Leyens, who estimated a feasibility study would take a year to complete.

More immediate work at the airport on U.S. 61 South is already under way. A complete renovation of the airport’s terminal began in October, and Leyens said he expects it will be complete in eight months to one year. The city received about $1.3 million in federal grant money following Hurricane Katrina to build a new terminal and fire station at the airport.

The fire station has been designed and the work will be advertised for bids soon, Leyens said. The city decided to remodel the terminal after estimates for building a new one came in too high, and it is doing the work in-house in hopes of counting the costs toward the 50 percent local match required of the grant. A new T-hangar building also will be included.

In December, the board accepted and matched a $262,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authority to buy a 19-acre tract on the north side of the 5,000-foot runway and clear it of trees and brush, as well as put up FAA-approved fencing. A surveyor is being sought to begin work on the project.

Vicksburg has continued to join Warren County, Tallulah and Madison Parish, the other VTR owners, in subsidizing operational costs of about $3,000 per month and providing grant matches for capital improvements, including a parallel taxiway and instrument landing system. A new, five-year operating agreement is pending.

In 1998 city officials voted 2-1 to close Vicksburg’s airport, initiating a nearly four-year legal battle with local business interests who rallied to keep the airport open. The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that city officials had the authority to close the Vicksburg airport, but under Leyens’ new administration the board committed to keeping it open for at least seven more years. Since then, Leyens has identified the airport as a prime target for more investment and development.

Major commercial users include LeTourneau Technologies and Cappaert Manufactured Housing, which are located nearby. The Army Corps of Engineers’ leased aircraft have operated from VTR since that airport was completed.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.