The Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Township may soon gain access to property it needs to expand one of its runways, officials announced Thursday.
The Wayne County Airport Authority, of which Willow Run Airport is a part, is engaged in a land swap with RACER Trust.
The trust is the entity that owns the former Willow Run GM Powertrain plant adjacent to the airport property.
A portion of land north of the plant that’s immediately west of the airport’s east-west runway will soon be under the airport authority’s control, officials said.
In exchange, the airport authority will be giving RACER Trust the land on which the former GM Powertrain plant’s wastewater treatment facility sits.
The runway expansion is a part of $182 million in upgrades the airport is seeking in the next 10 years.
The east-west runway runs parallel to Ecorse Road. Airport officials want to extend it from 7,200 feet long to 9,550 feet long, enabling larger planes to take off from the facility fully loaded with fuel and freight.