The Ozark-Blackwell Field Airport was selected from all General Aviation airports in Alabama to be recognized at this year’s conference.
The Alabama Airport Conference was held at the Renaissance Convention Center on Wednesday, in Montgomery.
Many representatives from Ozark made the trip to the capital city.
As it stands, the airport is undergoing nearly 21-million dollars in upgrades and renovations.
This includes a new ramp, new terminal, and entry off of Highway 231.
This project has been discussed since 1997.
Ozark Mayor Billy Blackwell says- this is more than an airport- it’s an economic investment.
He tells News 4: “The process that we’ve gone through for the past 15 years… bringing our airport to where it’s going to be in the next twelve months…is incredible.”
Vice President of Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon, Barry Mott, has seen this project develop over the years. “”It started back in 1999 with an airport layout plan…to take the airport from where it was at 42 hundred feet to 51 hundred feet,” he tells News 4. “A lot of people have put a lot of time and effort, into seeing this day come.”
While speaking during the conference, Mayor Blackwell commended Stephanie Blankenship, Director of Aviation for Ozark, for her tenacity to turn this project from a dream into a reality.
The City will bid the building of the terminal on Thursday.
If those bids are satisfactory- work will begin on the terminal within the next 60 days.
This airport will continue operating as a corporate/general airport. It will not fly commercial aircraft.