PENN TWP — Construction of a $1 million hangar project at the Butler County Airport took off his week with a ceremonial dig by airport officials.

Although the construction will result in 18 new hangars, there already is a 42-person waiting list for a hangar there. The new hangars will be filled as soon as they are completed this spring, said Roy Uptegraff, airport manager.

The 20,000 feet of storage space will be in addition to the 70 hangars already on site. The hangar project is partially paid for by a federal grant.

At the same time this project is in motion, airport officials still are studying the possibility of expanding the runway from 4,800 feet to 5,500 feet. That project, if it moves forward, would be in the works in about 2023 and cost about $20 million.

There are about 120 aircraft based at the airport, which serves more than 70,000 flights each year.