Roanoke— A coalition of leaders from the Roanoke Valley recently held a meeting with leaders of public and private sector leadership in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina to learn more about how those communities have built support for, and successfully sought investment in, the Raleigh Durham International Airport (RDU). Representatives from the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization, the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission, and the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor, were all in attendance.
“The Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport is fundamental to meeting the economic growth needs of the region,” said Regional Commission Chair Jim Wallace. “Understanding how the Research Triangle’s public and private sectors have worked together over the years to secure needed investments in runway and terminal improvements to match the rapid growth in their region can serve as a model for success here.”
Highlights of the afternoon’s meeting included discussions with Mike Landguth, RDU CEO, who shared how the airport and regional leadership have succeeded in securing funding from North Carolina to support air service across the state. Joe Milazzo, Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA), discussed the work of the RTA Airport Infrastructure Development (AID) task force to be the voice for business for critical investments in RDU and for mobilizing the private sector in advocating for and directly supporting increases in air service and other improvements at the airport.
Eric Sichau, president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, said, “One thing was clear from Raleigh’s successes – the active engagement of the region’s business community will be vital to our successful advocacy for RBRA investments.”
“Three things are driving the economic renaissance from the New River Valley to Southside—Virginia Tech, biomedical research, and advanced manufacturing,” said Grant Neely, executive director of the Blue Ridge Innovation Corridor. “They all depend on easy connections around the world. We need to continuously make it easier to get here by air, by rail, and by road—both for today and for the growth that will come. That requires cooperation between the public and private sectors, and it’s exciting to see so many partners working together.”
Phil North, chair of the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization and Chair of the Regional Commission’s Legislative Committee, also noted that support for the airport was featured in the Commission’s FY25 Legislative Agenda. Support for the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport is one of several strategies identified in the Regional Commission’s recent Partnership Planning Grant program with the Economic Development Administration. This leadership trip was the first in several expected efforts to learn more from peer regions and share information and strategies with local public officials and business leaders.
