Livingston Regional Airport is launching a major expansion project to construct a parallel taxiway and develop new hangar space following a $4 million state funding earmark.
Airport Board Chairman Jason Duke said the project serves as the first phase of a larger $8.3 million plan to complete the taxiway for the full length of the runway. Duke said the funding is specifically appropriated for aviation use by Governor Bill Lee and does not pull resources from other state projects like schools or roads.
“Now with larger twin traffic and jet traffic and insurance requirements, we naturally need a parallel taxiway for safety reasons first,” Duke said. “And secondary, we have about 12 to 16 acres of land suitable for development for commercial hangars and potential businesses inside the airport fence.”
Duke said the current runway configuration requires pilots to perform a back taxi, which involves traveling against the flow of traffic for nearly 4,000 feet. The new infrastructure will allow aircraft to reach the runway without occupying the active landing and takeoff strip.
Duke said the airport is located in a prime tourism position.
“It’ll increase our jet traffic,” Duke said. “Of course, Livingston Airport is the best suited airport to service Dale Hollow Lake.”
Duke said like most airports in the state, Livingston Airport currently maintains a waiting list for hangar space as more people move into the state.
“Those businesses tend to have an aircraft associated with them, over half the aircraft currently based at Livingston Airport right now are owned by someone who utilizes that aircraft primarily for their business purposes or in a business purpose itself,” Duke said. “And so as we can build more hangar space, we can accommodate more people and businesses wanting to locate planes in hangars and then my main focus on this too is to attract aviation related businesses to Livingston, businesses like avionics shops.”
Duke said the airport is working with a contractor on preliminary designs and expects construction to begin at the end of the summer. Duke said he estimates the project to take between 12 and 16 months to finish, with a deadline in late 2027.
Duke also said the airport also recently completed a $1 million remodel of its 1966 terminal building using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.
The new terminal, which underwent a complete infrastructure replacement, is scheduled to open to the public in mid-June.