The Raleigh County Memorial Airport is getting a facelift, and along with that may come hundreds of new jobs in the area.
The airport, located just outside of Beckley, was awarded $8.3 million in federal, state and local funds on Thursday to make some critical upgrades.
The Airport Industrial Park in Beaver will receive $3.5 million in federal dollars from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).
The EDA awarded $1.7 million as part of the Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC) program. The ACC is meant to help communities severely impacted by the declining use of coal.
The ARC awarded $1.75 million as part of West Virginia’s regular allocation of annual funds after a recommendation from Gov. Jim Justice.
According to a release from the EDA, the federal grants will be matched with $4.85 million in state and local funds.
The project will level land, construct an access road, and install water and sewer infrastructure to create prime development opportunities for commercial properties.
Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito championed the announcement as a way to help the economy in Southern West Virginia. Manchin and Capito advocated for the investment that will help connect more sites with direct access to the airport’s runways.
The work is expected to create more than 600 jobs.