Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport Receives $5 Million State Grant for Expansion

N.C. Rep. Allen Chesser, R-25th District, presented a ceremonial check for a $5 million state grant to officials of the Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport at a gathering at the airport on Tuesday. The grant will help pay for an expansion of the airport. Chesser has represented most of Nash County in Raleigh since his election in 2022.

Chesser said multimodal transportation helps communities thrive, citing the region's Interstate 95, U.S. 64 and U.S. 264 and the freight intermodal facility north to northeast of Rocky Mount that was dedicated in 2021. He thanked Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson for educating him about the importance of regional airports and transportation projects.

Rocky Mount Regional Airport Authority Board Chairman Garry Hodges said about $23 million has been spent over roughly the last eight to nine years upgrading the airport, and he hopes for another $25 million to $30 million over the next decade. Plans call for accepting construction bids for additional hangar space to hold 12 small aircraft, on top of the 23 small aircraft the airport can currently hold. Hodges estimated the expansion would generate about $80,000 a year in rental revenue, and Airport Director Josh Pusser estimated about 10 people are on a waiting list for hangar space.

Hodges said Nash County, through a memorandum of understanding, intends to provide 11 acres of land between the airport and N.C. 97, which is planned to hold 10 to 14 corporate aircraft. He said the Cummins Rocky Mount Engine Plant ships cargo, specifically heavy diesel engines, out via the airport. He said he mainly wants an additional runway to improve safety for pilots flying in bad weather and at night. Hodges also said the airport has a plan for a heliport that could accommodate rotary-wing aircraft traveling to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Small regional airports rarely fund growth from operating revenue alone. This case combines a state grant, county-provided land under a memorandum of understanding and an authority-level capital plan spread across a decade. The pattern ties public money to assets that earn rent, here hangar space for light aircraft and a planned corporate-aircraft area, while freight such as the diesel engines shipped from the Cummins plant gives the airport an industrial anchor beyond general aviation.

Demand for based-aircraft space is the economic engine of this kind of expansion. A waiting list of about 10 people against new capacity for 12 aircraft indicates the first phase is sized to existing demand, and the rental estimate of about $80,000 a year shows how modest the direct return on hangar construction is relative to the overall investment. That gap is why airports in this segment lean on grants and local government land contributions rather than self-financing.

The nearest milestone is the acceptance of construction bids for the additional hangar space. The county's 11-acre land transfer, the runway Hodges wants for bad-weather and night safety, and the heliport concept are all stated as plans or intentions, so each depends on further funding and approvals before it becomes built capacity.