The Livingston Parish Airport District has signed a five-year contract with Michael Baker International to design and develop a new airport just south of Interstate 12 near the Satsuma exit on 242 acres donated by a local developer. Livingston is the seat of Livingston Parish, La., and part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

This is a greenfield airport, meaning the site has never been developed. The firm will conduct an environmental assessment of the site and complete task orders such as planning the airport’s layout and updating the master plan and designing the airfield, which includes a 5,000-foot runway, taxiway, connector taxiways, aprons, lighting and signage, NAVAIDs, drainage, perimeter fencing, terminal building, parking, access roads, flight service station, airplane hangars, and a fuel station.

Michael Baker also worked with Gulf Engineers & Consultants (GEC) to identify funding sources. The project's first phase will cost approximately $15 million, with the Federal Aviation Administration covering 90% of construction and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development picking up the rest.

“It promises to be a valuable economic development resource,” says Delia Taylor, chair of the airport district. “Numerous studies show airport activity provides immediate and long-term economic benefits to the region.” Livingston is home to roughly 2,000 people.

“It's a testament to the strength of these people as they continue to recover from devastating flooding that damaged or destroyed more than 80% of the structures in the parish,” says Michael Hixson, P.E., aviation operations manager in Michael Baker’s Baton Rouge office.

Following the completion of Michael Baker’s environmental assessment and preliminary design layout for the property, a complete construction timeline will be developed and released by the airport.