The North Central West Virginia Airport Expansion - Moving Mountains:

The engineering community has called it one of the greatest earth-moving projects in recent memory. At the northern edge of North Central West Virginia Airport (formerly Benedum Airport), crews have cut away the mountainside to make way for an expanded runway: an effort that extended the strip from 5,200 to 7,000 feet. The ambitious $32 million project had 400 construction workers who moved 10.7 million cubic yards, or about 265,000 truck loads, of stone and soil.

It did not go to waste. In fact, it was recycled on site. The dirt filled lowlands to the east, creating taxiway access to developable sites. North Central West Virginia Airport now has a runway to safely accommodate larger aircraft and 250 new acres of prime industrial park land.

Assisting in this work was the state's Army National Guard Engineer Battalion, which organized a North Central West Virginia Airport Task Force to help construct a bypass road to gain access to the newly developed land.

"We envisioned this expansion as the engine to power yet another wave of development at MAAC, creating exciting possibilities for our people and those who do business here," Mollohan said.

"Senator Byrd's success in securing the funds for the runway extension demonstrates the power of his service to West Virginia. Through this project and countless others he's championed, our state's citizens are finding new opportunity at every corner."