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Gerald R. Ford International Airport celebrates completion of $30 million apron project

GRR Apron Ribbon Cutting photo
Gerald R. Ford International Airport

  

The Gerald R. Ford International Airport has completed its $30 million terminal apron reconstruction project.

After two years of construction, airport officials celebrated its conclusion. A ribbon cutting on the new and expanded apron improves the space where aircraft park, load, unload, fuel and de-ice.

“It’s a huge investment and we are very proud of the work that has occurred so we are poised and set for the future.”

Tory Richardson is President and CEO of Gerald R. Ford International Airport.

“The work that we did was really taking place and taking care of very old concrete facilities that needed to be replaced in order to set the stage so that we can continue to grow. And we’ve actually done some of the work provisioned for the Concourse A expansion next year so when we get out there, when the winter weather gets behind us, and we’re ready to start construction again, we’ve already made some provisions with the concrete work we did this year to allow for that new terminal expansion project to occur. So, a little bit of both; taking care of what we have and expanding for the future.”

Richardson tells us the size of the project, and the depth of the concrete pour, required enough material to construct a sidewalk from the airport to the Mackinac Bridge.

Patrick Center, WGVU News.

Patrick joined WGVU Public Media in December, 2008 after eight years of investigative reporting at Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV8 and three years at WYTV News Channel 33 in Youngstown, Ohio. As News and Public Affairs Director, Patrick manages our daily radio news operation and public interest television programming. An award-winning reporter, Patrick has won multiple Michigan Associated Press Best Reporter/Anchor awards and is a three-time Academy of Television Arts & Sciences EMMY Award winner with 14 nominations.