BAY MINETTE — The Bay Minette Municipal Airport is getting set to grow once again, thanks to a little help from U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The airport is set to receive $90,309 in appropriations to be put towards building a partial parallel taxiway.

“We must ensure that our smaller airports have the infrastructure needed to meet the demands of growing communities,” Shelby said. “The Bay Minette Municipal Airport and the Jack Edwards Airport will use these funds to make needed improvements to their facilities.

The airport improvements will help meet the needs of the increased population traveling to, from, and through south Alabama.”

James Rockhill, co-manager of the airport, said the taxiway will enhance the functionality and safety of the airport.

"It's a huge improvement for the airport," Rockhill said. "Right now planes have to use the runway to taxi. Bay Minette airport has an east-west runway, so if a plane needs to take off from the east end of the runway to take off into the wind, it has to backtaxi.

"If an airplane is backtaxiing to get to the right end of the runway and another plane is trying to land, it slows down airport operations."

Rockhill said the situation is akin to a large mall designed to have one road going in and one road going out, but only one road has been built.

"You have to wait until the road clears before you can go," he said. "It's like sharing a one-way street."

He said a full taxiway could cost as much as $2 million, but the project will be completed in stages.

"It will all be going toward the same goal, a full-length taxiway," he said. "For now we're going to do the eastern half, and as funding and priorities allow, we'll complete the western half."

Rockhill said the partial taxiway will be approximately 2,900 feet long and will allow planes taking off to reach the proper end of the runway without blocking traffic of other incoming or outgoing aircraft.

"It takes the city airport from a smaller airport with small infrastructure to a larger airport that can handle more traffic," he said. "It's easier and safer for customers to land, so more people will come.

“It's like a stadium with no parking lot or a small parking lot. If it's inconvenient, people will go somewhere else." .

He said the city will benefit in multiple ways including a increase in the amount of gas pumped, which means an increase in fees paid to the city.

City business will also reap the benefits of the airport drawing in new customers.

"It all brings in more business, which means more income, more revenues for the city," he said. "Anything going in a positive direction is good."

Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery agreed.

"The addition of a parallel taxiway raises the positive potential of economic development to our city through our airport," Tillery said. "The awarding of this federal grant will assist and benefit our city in upgrading the Bay Minette Municipal Airport to compete for general aviation and commercial air activity as well as to prepare to fulfill the needs of developing industries in surrounding air traffic areas."

Rockhill said the award is supposed to be granted sometime in February and groundbreaking could be as early as next month.

He said the committee would set the timeline for completion, but he believes the project will be slated for completion in six months.