The Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport has finished construction on its new shade canopies, marking the completion of a $5.5 million project approved by the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners in September 2023.
- The new canopies cover the curbside pickup area used by rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft. They connect to covered walkways leading to the main terminal curb for arriving and departing passengers.
The canopies were designed to enhance capacity at the busy airport while also providing safety improvements, and were a key piece of the airport’s master plan developed in 2020.
As part of the project, existing covered walkways leading to long-term parking, employee parking, and car rental return areas were rehabilitated. These structures were sandblasted, repainted, and fitted with new roofs to match the appearance of the new canopies.
- The project also included the relocation of the primary flagpole to a more prominent position visible to all airport guests and passing traffic on Highway 85.
Funding for the project came primarily from $4.5 million in reprogrammed federal CARES Act pandemic relief funds, allowing the airport to complete the construction in one phase rather than over several years as originally planned.
Additional funding was provided by the Federal Aviation Administration and Florida Department of Transportation grants, with less than 4% of the total cost coming from airport revenues.
4 Responses
Why not go further, in CA many public parking areas provide cool shaded places, at swimming pools and the roofs are solar panels, thus powering most of the pools operations.
I would suggest a supplemental project to add solar panels to all of these walkway covers.
I don’t care what they do in California. They are broke.
Meanwhile there are potholes all over fort Walton on eglin parkway and racetrack road. What a joke of my tax dollars at use!