The Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg is cleaning up from damages just in time for a Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be held from Friday to Sunday, and part of its trajectory will go through one of Albert Whitted Airport’s runways, mirroring all previous years.
However, airport Manager Rich Lesniak said the airport was damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton last year.
During Helene, the “whole airport” got flooded, having up to two feet of water in some locations, Lesniak said. Milton took out three hangar buildings, which means thirty-two aircraft parking spaces.
The debris also ended up damaging adjacent buildings, he said.
“We’ve had to demo and remove all them [after the hurricanes], and so now basically the only thing out there is empty building slabs.”
The City Council allocated funding in January for the airport to be repaired.
An around 6-person team conducted a task force to clean up as soon as possible.
Now, Lesniak said the airport is “finally” in good enough shape to receive the Grand Pix.
“They’ve done it so many years that it is almost automatic,” he said.
Lesniak said the airport should be fully repaired within the next two months.
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