The Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners has awarded a $1.93 million contract to rehabilitate part of the apron at Bob Sikes Airport.
- The board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the bid from Gum Creek Farms Inc. to rebuild the south ramp area used by general aviation aircraft at the Crestview airport.
“Bob Sikes Airport is moving tremendously and the work that the FBO is doing and the different stakeholders are doing is really putting a good name for the community and for the county,” Commissioner Paul Mixon said.
The project will be funded through a Florida Department of Transportation grant, which covers 80% of the cost. The county will pay the remaining 20% using airport funds already budgeted.
Tracy Stage, Okaloosa’s airports director, said the work involves removing and replacing pavement on 370 feet by 250 feet of the apron in a first phase. A second phase will replace another 440 feet by 250 feet section and 110 linear feet of concrete along an adjacent taxiway.
- Stage said the FAA has approved $2.7 million in additional funding that will allow later phases of the overall apron rehab project to proceed once grants are finalized, expected in January.
The construction contract sets a 165-day timeframe to substantially complete the first two phases, with full completion due within 195 days of getting a notice to proceed.
“It’s great to see, especially with the addition now of the refueling capabilities for the military trainers, that’s really opened some doors for things there with activity,” added Mixon. “And it’s great to know that there’s more new business coming and enhancements to the existing businesses.”
Stage told the commissioners that more exciting things are on the horizon for the Bob Sikes Airport in the future.
