The hangar that will house the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s H120 helicopter is 90 percent complete, South Alabama Regional Airport Executive Director Jed Blackwell said Tuesday.

Blackwell said that Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood’s Michelle Conway would likely do the final inspection on Friday.

“Considering the rain, they have done a great job staying on schedule,” he said.

Blackwell said the USDA will bring the helicopter Friday or Monday.

The aircraft is brand new from Airbus and will be maintained by Vector Aerospace.

The cost of the hangar is $208,000 and Curry Construction gets $149,985 for their work.

SARA also paid $20,000 to Bullard Excavating for site work and the remaining $38,015 was for engineering fees.

The airport authority financed the project with a loan from Covington Electric.

The USDA is paying the loan and has already made its first payment.

In previous meetings, Blackwell said the USDA plans to use the helicopter to help gain control of the feral hog population.

–Kendra Majors