COCHISE COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Cochise County is investing $9 million to revitalize the Bisbee Douglas International Airport as part of an ambitious plan to transform the facility into an economic driver for the rural community.
The county owns the airport and roughly 800 acres around it, and supervisors believe the upgraded facility could serve as a crucial gateway for economic development.
"This can be a huge gateway for economic development, for the county, for the state and for the whole country, and especially for this area that just has been languishing for decades," said Kathleen Gomez, Cochise County Board of Supervisor for District 2.
The county has already invested $500,000 into the terminal and secured $2 million in federal funding to begin runway improvements. Officials are seeking an additional $7 million from state and federal sources to complete the project.
I visited the airport to see the revitalization efforts firsthand. The runway improvements are the next priority since it would be the most heavily used component of the facility.
Gomez envisions the airport playing a key role in alleviating transportation challenges in the region.
"If you can have a good airport that can take out and help alleviate the commercial trucking problem, because we still have to look at 191 and that needs to be expanded and fixed so this airport can help alleviate taking goods by air. That's going to be key," Gomez said.
The project follows what Gomez describes as "a slow phase, shovel, kind of approach."
The City of Douglas stands to benefit significantly from the airport improvements. The facility could work in tandem with a new commercial port of entry being built west of the town.
"Commercial port is right next door, so they can take a lot of the products from Mexico, and if they have to fly them anywhere, it's just right there. So it's a huge incentive, and it's a big part of our selling point to the new commercial port and establishing warehouses and all that out there," said Jose Grijalva, mayor of Douglas.
County officials want the project completed by 2028 to coincide with the opening of the new commercial port of entry.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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