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When air travelers arrive at Yampa Valley Regional Airport this winter, they will be greeted with a newly constructed, modern cuing and baggage check-in area.

Snow Country Construction has been contracted for the $765,000 project, which is 90 percent funded by the federal government. Snow Country President Mark Halvorson said construction is on schedule and will be completed by Dec. 14. The first ski season jet flights begin operating Dec. 12, but Halvorson said if everything is not done by then, only minor touchups will remain.

By Dec. 12, Halvorson said, the interior will be 100 percent complete and the exterior at least 98 percent complete. This will be done during regular business hours, Halvorson said. He said that construction is going so smoothly that Snow Country is not requiring employees to work overtime to meet the December deadline.

The interior of the addition will be complete when the carpet is installed. Halvorson said the carpet provider has not yet delivered it.

The outer façade of the airport addition is built of stacked rock, masonry and heavy timbers. A canopy of heavy timbers has been erected over the right-side entrance and was completed Wednesday, and construction of a similar canopy over the left-side exit began Thursday, Halvorson said. A plywood tunnel has been constructed to protect airport visitors from the construction

The remainder of the addition will include applying stucco to blend in with the rest of the airport, Halvorson said.

"The bottom line is everyone will be able to use the terminal," Halvorson said. "At the moment it's looking really good, and it will be a huge improvement over the heated tents. I think everyone will be happy."

The tents were used last winter for a temporary baggage check and cuing area.

"It should improve passengers' comfort level and remove some anxiety," Parker said last month. "Last winter, they couldn't see the ticket counter (while their luggage was being screened)."

The entrance will provide visual clues that will guide departing passengers in the right direction, Halvorson said.

Permanent improvements to the vehicle and pedestrian flow in the parking lots in front of the airport will wait until the summer of 2005, when the county plans to begin Phase II of the airport terminal expansion project.

The second phase includes a major expansion to the ticketing area at the airport, and the addition will be built where traffic lanes currently exist. Arrival lanes will be constructed for commercial and private vehicles, meaning improvements made this year would be moot in just a couple of years.

-- To reach Nick Foster call 871-4204

or e-mail nfoster@steamboatpilot.com