AUBURN — Local officials and U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, celebrated investments in local transportation Tuesday at the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport.

“Economic growth depends largely on our infrastructure and at a time when our economy is struggling, investing in the infrastructure is one of the best ways to jump-start our economy and get jobs created,” Michaud said.

Michaud was on hand to present airport managers with a $500,000 check to pay for design and engineering studies for a 1,000-foot runway extension. It’s part of the federal spending bill signed by the president last week.

“This extension will help the airport grow and increase business in the Lewiston-Auburn area and throughout Western Maine,”
Michaud said.

He also toured a nearby hangar where Lufthansa Technik is working to repair and refurbish two Lockheed Super Constellations. The company is rebuilding the aircraft piece by piece.

“It was a great tour,” Michaud said. “It’s actually the first time I’ve had a chance to see what was going on over there. The project holds a lot of potential, and I’m very pleased to see that they’re doing everything, buying everything locally. It’s great for the local economy.”

Airport Manager Rick Cloutier said engineers should begin doing environmental impact studies on the expansion. It calls for adding 800 feet on the south side of the airport’s main runway, Runway 22, and 200 feet on the north side.

It also calls for relocating the Lewiston Junction intersection about 400 feet north along Hotel Road to make room for the longer runway.

Once the approvals are received and the design work is finished, the airport will begin competing for federal money to complete the expansion. That will cost another $10 million to $12 million.

“But it moves us into an another entire tier of aircraft,” Cloutier said. That includes 737-sized aircraft, and would clear the way for regular passenger service to the airport.

Runway construction could begin late in 2011 or early in 2012, Cloutier said.

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