Following the unveiling of multiple proposed upgrade options for new hangars, taxiways and apron areas at the Chehalis-Centralia Airport at a master plan update process open house in January, airport staff and consultants from the Aviation Planning Group (APG) are preparing to host the third and final open house to gather more public input.
This final open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, inside the Chehalis-Centralia Airport’s Scott Crossfield Terminal, located at 880 NW Airport Road in Chehalis, according to a news release.
Most of the proposed upgrades involve either extending existing taxiways or building new ones, along with adding more hangars and flightline apron space for aircraft parking, which will be needed as the airport is forecasted to see more flight activity in the future.
Other upgrades are also being considered, such as a hydrogen development area and solar panel installation.
Following January’s open house, the proposed upgrade plans were reviewed by the Chehalis-Centralia Airport master plan update technical and public advisory committees.
“Since the last public open house event in late January 2024, the project has refined and selected a preferred development alternative to satisfy future facility requirements,” the release stated. “The project team has begun work on the airport layout plan document and has started to develop the implementation plan chapter for the master plan update. This meeting will show a preferred alternative, as well as discuss project phasing over the 20-year planning period for input from the public.”
Required by the FAA to receive federal grant funding, airport master plans are comprehensive studies describing the short-, medium- and long-term development goals for future aviation demand at an airport.
The goal is to create an aviation forecast of what infrastructure upgrades or improvements will be needed over the next 20 years. Chehalis-Centralia Airport’s master plan was last updated in 2001.
Following the final open house later this month, the final draft of the updated Chehalis-Centralia Airport master plan will be ready by May according to APG consultants, and the updated master plan will be submitted to the FAA for final review before its officially adopted.
Public comments and suggestions will be accepted throughout the airport master plan update process. To submit a comment and sign up for master plan update notifications, visit https://www.chehaliscentraliaairport.com/public-engagement-1.
For more information on the master plan and to view the 2001 Chehalis-Centralia Airport master plan, visit https://www.chehaliscentraliaairport.com/documents.
To learn more about the APG, visit https://www.theaviationplanninggroup.com/.
