TRENTON — Mercer County has taken the next step toward replacing its antiquated airport terminal. The county on Sept. 13 entered into a professional services agreement with Urban Engineers Inc. of Philadelphia to be the county’s consultant in the design phase of improvements at Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN), located in Ewing, N.J.

Urban will guide the county through the rigorous process of investigating sites, developing an Environmental Assessment (EA), and providing preliminary design for a new passenger terminal. Preliminary design phase, or Phase 1, includes associated projects such as airside aprons and roadways, and landside roadways and new parking garage. The contract with Urban is not to exceed $4,461,570.

“Recent year-over-year figures for August show air traffic and passenger increases across the board at Trenton-Mercer Airport,” said Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes. “It is time to provide customers with a modern, efficient airport terminal to accommodate the growing base.”

Despite its small stature compared to similarly trafficked airports, Trenton-Mercer Airport now ranks 143rd out of 533 commercial U.S. airports, and is in the top 25 percent of all commercial airports.

The EA process is governed by the Federal Aviation Administration and requires public comment period and meetings and hearings for the public. The first of those meetings, the Public Scoping Meeting, is anticipated to be scheduled for October 2018. Meeting notification will be sent to local newspapers, and will be posted on social media and the Mercer County website, www.mercercounty.org.