Runways Need To Be Lengthened To Support Commercial Service

Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR) in Connecticut remains the object of a bitter three-way tug-of-war between two towns and the state.

The airport is owned by the City of Bridgeport, but lies entirely within the boundaries of the Town of Stratford. The last scheduled airline service there ended in 1999, in part because both its runways are under 5,000 feet long.

Bridgeport said the runways needed to be lengthened to bring back the airlines. Stratford NIMBYs fought back. The state of Connecticut has talked about taking over the airport to move forward with the expansion plan it approved. Stratford has countered that it wants to buy the airport itself.

The latest chapter in the story is a mandate from the FAA for overrun safety zones for the runways. A chartered Piper Navajo with nine on board overran the runway in April 1994, and the NTSB ruled the eight fatalities were caused by fire, produced by collision with the rigid blast fence at the end of runway 6. There have been three accidents in which planes crashed through the fence and out onto Stratford's Main Street.

As ANN reported, in September 2008 leaders broke ground on a $27 million renovation project at BDR, including plans for several new hangars, as well as a new general aviation terminal.

The US Army agreed in the past to sell an old engine plant to the city of Bridgeport to provide just over an acre of land in the needed area, allowing re-routing of Main Street and installation of a 300-foot-long Engineered Materials Arresting System. But NIMBYs painted that as a runway lengthening, and blocked it.

Now, The Connecticut Post reports there's a deal to sell the Army's plant to Stratford, which wants to develop the land. The City of Bridgeport filed suit Thursday to stop that sale. The FAA is not amused, and has threatened to take over the airport through eminent domain laws to end the bickering and get the needed safety improvements done.

So, that makes a four-way tug-of-war.

FMI: http://ci.bridgeport.ct.us/airportsikor.aspx