BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WV News) — Congress isn’t back in session until after the midterm elections, but Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R.W.Va., is keeping busy during the break.
On Monday, during a series of stops throughout the region, Capito met with local officials at North Central West Virginia Airport for a roundtable discussion focused on the airport’s ongoing projects and long-term goals.
She heard from members of the Benedum Airport Authority, county commissioners and other airport stakeholders, Capito said.
“I just think it’s phenomenal, the growth, and also the vision to grow this airport,” she said. “This is an economic driver for the community.”
Like nearly every other sector, the aviation and aerospace industries are facing workforce challenges, Capito said.
“We have workforce shortages everywhere, and it’s no different here at the airport,” she said. “The aviation industry — whether it’s aviation management, pilot training, all the things that are occurring along with the industrial development — shows you that these are economic drivers.”
At the end of June, Capito and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced the airport would receive more than $2.5 million in federal funding to support the design and constitution of a new taxiway and a new terminal tarmac.
Those funds, along with other federal dollars and awards from the state, are being used to fund the airport’s new terminal building project.
“That’s what you want to see,” Capito said. “Because then you feel that your tax dollars are not just one-and-done — they are one times five and 10 and 20.”
The airport’s annual economic impact on the surrounding region is already over $1 billion, a figure that is expected to increase once the terminal project is complete.
“With the new terminal, I think it’s just going to attract more and more,” she said. “They are hoping — and I’m hoping to help them — grow that $1 billion to $2 billion in the next five to 10 years.”
Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang, a member of the Benedum Airport Authority and its Special Projects Committee, said Capito has always been an unwavering ally of the airport and its goals.
“The senator’s office is always, always very open and willing to help us,” he said. “We had a general discussion of where we’re at with projects around the airport, the federal funding that’s available out there and the federal funding that we’ve gotten in the past. We continue to have good conversations with her and her staff.”
Prior to visiting the airport, Capito stopped by The Bridge Sports Complex.
“What a magnificent facility,” she said. “Lots of people exercising, using the pool and the climbing walls. I hadn’t seen it before, and it’s really, really good.”
Other stops Monday included a visit to West Virginia University in Morgantown, where Capito visited with students enrolled in the mining engineering program.