- City:
- Detroit, MI
- Site Type:
- Airports, Infrastructure and Utilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Civil Works Administration (CWA), Work Relief Programs
- Started:
- 1933
- Completed:
- 1934
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Marked:
- Unknown
Description
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) was developed and improved during the Great Depression with New Deal work relief funds and labor.
The groundbreaking for Wayne County Airport occurred April 1929. On September 4, 1930, Wayne County Airport opens at the corner of Middlebelt Road and Wick Road in Romulus, Michigan. The Detroit City Airport improvement project began under the Civil Works Administration (CWA). “With a total appropriation of $160,000.00 the entire interior of the huge hangar was painted; underground gasoline tanks were removed to less hazardous locations; obstructions bordering on the field were repainted to conform with Bureau of Aeronautics standards; new lighting equipment was installed; and additions to existing buildings were erected. All this work constituted necessary improvements but would have been impossible, except for the CWA, due to the strained financial condition of the city. Airport engineers planned and supervised the undertaking.”
Source notes
https://www.metroairport.com/about-dtw/airport-history
Anderson, James R.. Roads to Renewal : The Report of Activities and Accomplishments of the Civil Works Administration in Michigan, November 1933-March 1934, Michigan State University Press, 2020
Site originally submitted by Andrew Laverdiere on May 31, 2022.
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