Licking County Regional Airport – Treneff Field (VTA), formerly known as Newark-Heath Airport, is located in one of the fastest-growing regions in Ohio. Under the leadership of the Licking County Regional Airport Authority (LCRAA), the general aviation facility recently underwent a series of improvements, highlighted by a new terminal facility, as it prepares to serve growing demand. The airport improvement program is a demonstration of how a consultant engineer can work with a community to maximize the value of a critical economic and transportation asset that connects them to a world of opportunities.

Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) was hired as the airport’s consultant right after an airfield project resulted in a taxiway encroaching upon the existing terminal. After listening to the owner’s vision for their airport and goals for serving the growing community, an existing plan to simply relocate the existing structure to a new location quickly evolved into an entire program of improvements that would help to bring that vision to reality.

As Licking County prepares for a $20 billion investment in the form of a new computer chip manufacturing facility, the airport’s leaders wanted to do their part to create a gateway into the region that would reflect its growing prosperity and importance. A new terminal would provide that opportunity. Working with airport leaders and incorporating their preferences, a building was designed that is much more upscale and distinctive than is found at a typical general avia­tion airport. Visitors just touching down will know immediately that they are in Licking County and once inside the terminal they will experience touchstones from the county’s history and geography that have been incorporated into the design.

This project was one of the first two in Ohio to receive funding through the FAA’s Airport Terminal Program (ATP) grants, a new funding source included in the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in 2022. The $1.85 million awarded for this project, along with a $383,000 Airport Improvement Grant, was pivotal in the county’s ability to achieve all it had hoped to accomplish with this program. This demonstrates how the engineer, in the role of the airport’s advocate, can play a key role in not only planning and executing projects, but securing the financial resources necessary to make those projects economically feasible.

In addition to the new terminal, the improvement program included a new 12-unit T-Hangar, community box hangar, maintenance hangar, terminal apron/taxilane, and airfield electrical vault. The team encountered complexities along the way, the most prominent of which was an underground oil remediation sparge system that was built partially on airport property to miti­gate the effects of oil seepage from a nearby oil facility. A unique Geopier system was designed for the terminal building foundations to address the porous soils created by the sparge system.

Throughout the development of these improvements, LCRAA leaders have voiced their appre­ciation for CMT’s insights, responsiveness, and performance, and awarded the firm perfect 10s in a client evaluation survey. Licking County Regional Airport – Treneff Field is now ready to exceed the expectations of travelers, users, stakeholders, and the community it serves.