Machias eyes building larger airport

MACHIAS – The ongoing quest to build a new, larger regional airport will be the subject of a meeting planned for Wednesday at the local University of Maine campus.

According to Town Manager Betsy Fitzgerald, the purpose of the meeting is to update interested parties about the effort to find a new place for the proposed airport. As town manager, Fitzgerald also oversees operations at Machias Valley Airport, the town’s municipal airport located off Route 1.

Wednesday’s meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Clipper Lounge on the UMaine at Machias campus.

Fitzgerald said the town’s existing airport, which offers no services, cannot easily be expanded. The 2,900-foot runway is not long enough to handle midsize or larger aircraft and is hemmed in on one end by Route 1 and by the Machias River on the other.

Over much of the past decade, Machias officials have championed the construction of a larger airport within a 30-minute drive of Machias as a means of bringing more economic development to Washington County.

Fitzgerald said that the Federal Aviation Administration would pay 95 percent of the cost of building a new airport and Machias and the state would cover the rest. The airport would be governed by a multimunicipal authority, she said.

But the idea of building a larger airport in the area has not been well-received by everyone. A proposal to build one in Jonesboro was dropped a year ago after nearly 80 percent of the town’s residents signed a petition opposing the concept.

Selectmen in East Machias also recently have publicly voiced concerns about the economic feasibility of building a new airport in the area, according to Fitzgerald. She said she hopes Wednesday’s meeting will help address those concerns and clarify what the effects of such a project might be.

Fitzgerald said she has sent out meeting invitations to 18 surrounding towns and townships but she is not sure what kind of turnout to expect.

btrotter@bangordailynews.net

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