Originally published in 1998
City officials and members of the community gathered eagerly on a beautiful Saturday morning, Sept. 19, 1998, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly remodeled Edinburg International Airport. The sneak preview of the $2.2 million dollars worth of work that was recently completed at this facility assured City Manager John Milford that “the airport will be a major tool in economic development in attracting businesses and industries to our area. It’s another way for our economy to grow not only in Edinburg but in the Valley.”
The airport, located at 400 E. Hargil Road, off Farm-to-Market Road 490 and U.S. Highway 281, previously could only accommodate single- or twin-engine aircraft weighing less than 12,000 pounds. The new $1.56 million runway, which measures almost a mile long, can now accommodate aircraft weighing up to 30,000 pounds.
In addition to the main runway, other renovations, some funded with TxDOT’s assistance and some funded locally, included:
- remodeling the fueling station and adding a self-serve station,
- replacing the beacon with one 23-in. in diameter on a 55-ft. tower,
- adding a new storm drainage system and
- installing a security fence around the airport.
Additionally, to ensure future growth, about 350 acres of land surrounding the main runway has been reserved for incoming businesses. Officials anticipate that businesses will take advantage of the airport’s proximity. According to Airport Manager Arnold Vega, “The airport will mainly land cargo and small private aircraft and will not accommodate any commercial airlines. City officials do not want to compete with airports at McAllen, Brownsville or Harlingen, which concentrate extensively on commercial airlines. Officials prefer to focus on the work with the City of Pharr with its international bridge as a cargo type of crossing. Vera said, “We’ ll work with Mexico and the maquiladoras, we feel there is a market in the area of import-export with Mexico.”
Funds for the multi-million dollar renovation project arrived in 1995 from Texas Department of Transportation, while the city contributed $285,000 dollars for its share. After going through major airport renovations over the last few years, for Edinburg, the long wait seems to be worth it!
