Marana News - Kirkpatrick Visits Marana, Gives Support for Airport

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By Hilary Davis

The Marana Regional Airport doesn't have an air traffic control tower, but town and airport staff are hoping Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick can help make one a reality.

Kirkpatrick, in the area last week as part of her first district visit of this session, sat with airport manager Steve Miller and others from the town Thursday, listening to how the airport can improve to keep up with the area's growth.

It's not cheap, however -- Miller estimated the tower would cost about $1 million to build -- and the municipal airport will need help from Washington.

As a member of the aviation subcommittee of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, Kirkpatrick said she's in a good position to bring the tower issue to the committee and start looking for funding.

"The timing's good because we are going to be doing an FAA reauthorization in committee this year," she said.

The two-runway Marana Regional Airport is a reliever for Tucson International and handles about 90,000 takeoffs and landings a year, a combination of local and itinerant general aviation, charter flights and military. Improvements to the airport would not just address safety but economic development, officials said.

"My vision and my work is really around building a strong, stable, diversified economy and you certainly see that opportunity here in Marana," Kirkpatrick said.

After the airport visit, the Flagstaff Democrat attended a veterans' roundtable in Oro Valley, then traveled to the northern portion of her sprawling district.

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