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Eastern Airport demolition advances as county outlines $5.6 million package for runway relocation and site cleanup
Summary
Talbot County’s airport manager reported demolition of a former industrial building is underway and described a $5.6 million, federally funded package for the next phase of the Eastern Airport runway relocation and site work; county officials said environmental testing and mitigation were completed.
Talbot County’s airport manager told the County Council Tuesday that demolition of the former Black & Decker building at Eastern Airport has begun and the county is preparing a federally funded construction package for runway relocation and site work.
Airport Manager Micah Risher said nearly 472,000 cubic yards of fill were moved during an earlier phase to prepare the southwest end of Runway 4 and that the current demolition and site work are part of the next construction package. “We are exceeding MDE requirements to ensure everything there is safe to the public,” Risher said, describing lead, asbestos and freon removal and air-monitoring systems that provide real-time data to engineers.
Risher said the site’s environmental management plan and voluntary cleanup work with Maryland Department of the Environment were completed after the county purchased the 58-acre parcel in 2017. He said the contractor, Reynolds Excavating, is recycling building materials where possible; concrete and asphalt will be crushed and used as subbase for airfield construction, limiting landfill waste.
The county presented expenditures for the current package totaling about $5.6 million: roughly $5.1 million in construction, $423,000 for project management and modest administrative costs. Risher said the airport’s share of the project is $303,000 and that the project is funded through Airport Improvement Program grants and airport enterprise funds, which are user-funded.
Risher described site work ahead, including grading and relocation of a small stream, creation of wetland area from woody debris staging, and landscaping; he said work would improve stormwater controls and that demolition of the building should be complete within about four weeks. The county also will convert asphalt and block for reuse in the runway rebuild, and plans to landscape the parcel as green space with lighting by the end of next year.
Council members thanked Risher and the contractor for mitigation and for efforts to limit dust and environmental impacts. Risher urged residents with questions to contact his office and pointed to an environmental management plan posted on the airport website.
No formal council vote was required Tuesday; the airport manager said grant agreements for the work were already executed.
