County to Make $2 Million of Improvements
at Hudson Valley Regional Airport
Federal grant to fund terminal apron, taxiway and lighting rehabs
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro announced today the County will make investments of $2.1 million to reconstruct and rehabilitate the terminal apron, taxiway and taxiway lighting at Hudson Valley Regional Airport in Wappinger. The project is being funded by a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), secured by Sen. Chuck Schumer.
The improvements the County will make to the airport include:
- Rehabilitating 18,000 square yards of the existing terminal apron to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement;
- Rehabilitating 600 feet of the existing Taxiway E pavement to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement;
- Rehabilitating 600 feet of the existing Taxiway F pavement to maintain the structural integrity of the pavement;
- Reconstructing the Taxiway E edge lighting system, which has reached the end of its useful life and requires reconstruction to meet FAA standards; and
- Reconstructing the Taxiway F edge lighting system, which has reached the end of its useful life and requires reconstruction to meet FAA standards.
County Executive Molinaro said, “In the past decade, Hudson Valley Regional Airport has gone from being a costly asset for County taxpayers to becoming a profitable endeavor, providing revenue that helps offset other costs, countywide. These improvements to the airport, which dates back to the 1930s, will not only enhance the viability of the facility for existing users, but will also help attract new ones – bringing more economic benefit to the people of Dutchess County. We thank Sen. Schumer for seeing the value of Hudson Valley Regional Airport and the importance of investing in it, and we look forward to future collaborations that benefit Dutchess County residents and businesses.”
Located at 263 New Hackensack Road in Wappinger, Hudson Valley Regional Airport is a general aviation airport, designated as local, as defined in the FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems report. In 2021, the number of aircraft operations (take-offs and landings) at the airport exceeded 60,000 for the year, the highest traffic count in more than five years.
The aforementioned planned improvements are just the latest enhancements at the airport.
Dutchess County invested nearly $8 million into the construction and development of Dutchess Community College’s (DCC) educational hangar at Hudson Valley Regional Airport, which opened in 2021 and provides a state-of-the-art learning environment for DCC aviation students. The nearly 32,000-square-foot facility serves as experiential lab space for a fixed-base operator and maintenance facility serving the airport.
Prior to that project, the County invested $8.8 million for the construction of a 6,725-square-foot Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) building at the airport to meet FAA safety requirements and protect ARFF equipment from adverse weather conditions.
Additional information about Hudson Valley Regional Airport is available at: https://www.dutchessny.gov/
