Groundbreaking Held on $2.98 Million Terminal at Jimmie Austin Seminole Regional Airport in Oklahoma

State and local officials broke ground Thursday on a $2.98 million terminal project at Jimmie Austin Seminole Regional Airport in Seminole, Oklahoma.

The project covers construction of a new 4,200-square-foot terminal, with electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fire protection improvements, along with landscaping and other site work.

Funding comes from three sources: $1 million from the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, $934,182 in federal grants and $1,049,168 from the City of Seminole. Seminole Mayor Cory Crabtree said the groundbreaking represents an investment in the community.

The funding split shows how terminal projects at smaller general aviation and regional airports usually come together. A state aeronautics agency, a federal grant program and the host city each cover a share, and the city's portion here, at $1,049,168, is the largest of the three. Municipal budgets therefore carry much of the weight when a community wants better airport facilities.

A terminal of this scale mainly serves as the arrival point for itinerant business and private flights. Upgrading the building, along with fire protection and mechanical systems, changes what visiting crews and passengers see first, and airports of this type often use such facilities to make the case for attracting more transient traffic.

The next milestones to track are construction progress and the opening of the finished terminal, neither of which has been dated.