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Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

A Story of Service and Resilience–Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

May 6, 2020

Runway at Brazoria County Airport.By Chris Sasser
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

As Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport Manager Jeff Bilyeu stared down yet another flooding event from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, he had to wonder when his airport was going to catch a break. After all, in 2016, historic flooding in central Texas made its way downstream to the airport. When the Brazos River finally crested, it was at record levels causing flooding at the airport and the eventual closure for over a week. The airport entry road was underwater for a week. But it’s not in Bilyeu’s nature to back down from a challenge; he and his staff banded together to surge into the future. Their efforts were rewarded by being named the 2019 Airport of the Year at the Texas Aviation Conference.

“The most important thing is the dedication of our staff to get us up and going again,” said Bilyeu. “They are an amazing group of people to work with. They make everything out here happen whether it’s a beautiful day or weather events such as floods, they keep everyone safe. Four of the past five years we’ve had some type of flooding and it’s just characteristic of this area when we see significant rainfall in this area’s watershed.”

Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport Manager Jeff Bilyeu.

To help mitigate and prevent such future flooding, the airport and Brazoria County paid for realignment of drainage and construction of drainage ditches. The airport receives remarkable support from county officials.

“We’re in a unique location in that the airport serves our two immediate cities,” explained Bilyeu. “We’re growing relationships with Lake Jackson on the utility side and on the land use side. And their industrial development corporation is now interacting with us for future development.”

Many aviation businesses operate out of the airport, including Dow and Bucee’s, with both having based aircraft at the airport.

Being a vital hub of commerce, the airport has undergone many improvements in the past few years including:

  • a master plan update
  • a runway reconstruction project
  • the design and construction of a new terminal building
  • the installation of wildlife fencing
  • a wildlife hazard assessment
  • apron and ramp reconstruction
  • FBO hangar construction, and
  • city water plant and sewer construction

The airport is also home to the Runway Café, a busy onsite restaurant that serves up delicious local food for both flyers and the community who know where to find the best fried shrimp around.

Bilyeu believes in mentoring to the next generation of aviation professionals. He has a continued relationship with Texas Southern University and has mentored at least five students in the past three years. Those students have completed three month-long onsite internships in an effort to help them learn as much as possible at this airport. He has helped them to learn the importance of networking for job placement and led them to be involved in aviation organizations. He also speaks every year at multiple elementary schools and junior highs on Career Days in an effort to educate young people about the career options that are available
for young men and women within aviation.

“The airport is the front door to the County for many business people and visitors to our area,” notes Bilyeu. “It’s important that we offer a professional first and last impression for folks traveling to and from our County.”

Filed Under: Wingtips Spring 2020 Tagged With: Jeff Bilyeu, Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

Historic Cresting of Brazos River Floods Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

October 27, 2016

Flooding at the Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport.

Flooding at the Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport.

By Chris Sasser
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport Aviation Director Jeff Bilyeu knew it was coming.

“For weeks leading up to the flood, we knew the river was rising because of the rainfall Central Texas had received,” said Bilyeu. “Even though we had prepared our airport and tenants, it’s hard to truly be ready for what happened.”

What happened was a historic flooding event that saw the Brazos River cresting at 52.56 feet on June 5, but taking nearly two weeks to fully recede to safe levels. The level was the third highest crest on record for northern Brazoria County.

The airport was A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) closed on June 6. Even though, the airport hangars, runway, taxiways, terminal building and restaurant remained above water, many of the access roads on the airport and virtually all fields were covered in water.

“To reopen the airport, we needed a safe entry road and safe utilities,” explained Bilyeu. “To get back to truly normal operations, including during darkness, we needed dependable phones and airfield lighting.”

The entry road (County Road 220B) was underwater for a week. To get to the airport to assess damage, Bilyeu relied on local officials to ferry him via airboat.

“Obviously it was important to keep our tenants and the public apprised of the airport’s current status,” said Bilyeu. “So we posted continuous updates, along with photos and video, to our Facebook page.”

The airport reopened for day use on June 13; 10 days after initially closing and surprisingly sustained little damage beyond the cleanup.

“Our runway, terminal building, hangars—every structure stayed above the water,” said Bilyeu. “As bad as this situation was, it could have certainly been much worse. I’m thankful for the support of our local officials and tenants in getting us operational as quickly as possible.”

Filed Under: Wingtips Fall 2016 Tagged With: Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

New Terminal Building at Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport Officially Opens

April 14, 2014

Terminal building at Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

The new terminal building at Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport.

By Chris Sasser
Texas A&M Transportation Institute

The Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport in Lake Jackson, Texas, hosted a dedication and ribbon cutting on Friday, Nov. 1, to mark the opening of the airport’s 11,000-square-foot terminal office building. The event was attended by a number of local government officials, representatives from TxDOT, the general public and country music superstar Aaron Tippen, who is a big advocate for general aviation as well as an instrument-rated commercial pilot with single-and multi-engine ratings.

The $2.7 million facility includes administrative offices, fixed-based operator services, aviation and car rental/lease space, utility closets, as well as the general public terminal/lobby and pilots lounge. The terminal building also features a large conference room than can hold up to 75 people. The one-story building has an exterior of brick, natural stone and exposed metal.

In his opening remarks Precinct 4 Brazoria County Commissioner Larry Stanley underscored the importance of the new terminal building to the area’s economic growth. “We are very proud of this terminal building,” Stanley said. “It is a true asset and serves as a great front door to Brazoria County.”

The completion of the terminal building is part of the airport’s 20-year master plan with a number of improvements completed since 2008. The runway has been extended to 7,000 feet, enough to accommodate small- to medium-sized airliners. Future improvements include more public and private hangars and an air traffic control tower.

“It’s amazing how far this airport has come in a few years,” said TxDOT Aviation Director David Fulton. “The representatives from this community understand and appreciate the value this airport brings to the area.”

The terminal replaced three portable buildings at the airport and is expected to help facilitate growth. Situated adjacent to the Crosswind Café, the airport is fast becoming a popular destination airport for pilots. The airport saw almost 78,000 take-offs and landings in 2008, and Airport Director Jeff Bilyeu expects that number will swell to 84,500 by 2014 and 95,600 by 2019.

“We didn’t have a true terminal building when I began to work here a few years ago,” Bilyeu said. “This project was made possible because of the support of community leaders and the wonderful relationship we have with TxDOT staff.” For more information about Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport, visit their website at http://www.flylbx.org/.

Filed Under: Wingtips Winter 2014 Tagged With: Jeff Bilyeu, Terminal Building Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport, Texas Gulf Coast Regional Airport

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