Marion County Airport to see improvements

A pilot with Central Florida Skydiving takes David Bosanko up for another of his 77 skydives at the Dunnellon Airport in Dunnellon, Fla. on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. Bosanko broke the Florida skydiving record of 72 jumps in one day with his 77 jumps on Sunday. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

Changes are coming to the Marion County Airport and the county is accepting bids for who will complete a big project aimed to increase safety and efficiency for the pilots who frequent it.

The airport, located at 14968 SW 110th St., Dunnellon, will undergo construction to create two new taxiways, which will be parallel to the two existing runways. A taxiway is a strip that allows aircraft to move to or from a runway without obstructing the takeoff or landing of other planes on the runway.

Taxiway alpha will be 5,000 feet long and run the entire length of runway 5-23, and taxiway bravo will be 3,291 feet long and run only part of the length of the other, runway 10-28. The procurement services department of Marion County issued a packet of all of the specifications for the project to any consultant who wishes their plan to be considered for the bid.

“In the current airfield configuration, landing and departing aircraft are required to back taxi which increases the time that aircraft are on the runway, decreasing the operational efficiency of the airfield,” according to the procurement department.

The Marion County Airport is also an uncontrolled airfield, meaning that there is no tower for air traffic control that informs pilots in the air of what planes are taxiing, taking off or landing on the runway. Pilots must pass over to check the runways or communicate with other pilots through the radio.

At this time, there is no timeline or cost estimate for the project. That information will be solidified when the bid is awarded or during the negotiation process, said procurement and contract analyst Tika Black.

The last day for potential contractors to contact the procurement department with questions about the project was Thursday at 12 p.m. The final day for contractors to submit a bid to the county for consideration is July 13 at 3 p.m.