Clarksburg opposing Morgantown airport expansion

Morgantown Airport wants to extend its runways and expand its potential customers base.

Clarksburg’s Benedum Airport Authority opposes the project, fearing competition from Morgantown.

It’s better to have two airports that qualify with longer runways, Morgantown Assistant City Manager Glen Kelly said. That way, if Clarksburg or Morgantown are hit by bad weather, planes may be able to land at the other airport and not have to switch to Pittsburgh.

Case in point: "Mylan Pharmaceuticals, when we lost them, did they go to Clarksburg? No, they went to Pittsburgh, and because of that, we lost more executives, and ultimately now that company is based in Europe. 

"That's huge, and just like the company that wanted to come here but we couldn't service them because we didn't have enough runway," said Kelly.

The National Guard would help extend the runways. Air Force Reserves would handle the earth-moving, a $12.2 million cost. The total project would be $30.5 million.

It’s up to federal and state officials to settle the kerfuffle between Morgantown and Clarksburg.