Tue, Jan 24, 2012
Second Area Airport Groundbreaking In As Many Weeks
DOT and FAA representatives attended a groundbreaking for the
second major airport project in the Fort Lauderdale area in as many
weeks on Monday. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Acting FAA
Administrator Michael Huerta helped break ground for a $791 million
runway expansion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
Airport.
"This is one of the largest and most important airport
construction projects in the country right now," said Secretary
LaHood. "Modernizing our airport infrastructure will keep our
economy moving forward, and put thousands of Americans back to
work."
When construction activity peaks next year, the project will
contribute more than $1 million per day to the local economy,
according to Broward County. It will generate thousands of direct
and indirect jobs by the time the runway opens in fall 2014. "Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is one of the
fastest-growing airports in the country," said Acting Administrator
Huerta. "The expanded runway will provide additional airport
capacity and will help reduce flight delays."
The project will extend, shift and lengthen Runway 9R/27L from
5,276 feet to 8,000 feet, giving the airport two parallel runways
that can accommodate air carrier flights. Parallel runways can
increase airport capacity dramatically, and this expansion will
increase the airport's capacity from 84 flights per hour to 107.
Without the runway expansion, delays could reach more than ten
minutes per flight.
The FAA has issued a Letter of Intent to provide $250 million in
Airport Improvement Program funding over 12 years for the project.
More than 22 million passengers fly through Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport annually, ranking it
22nd in total passenger traffic in the United States. More than 600
flights fly in and out of the airport daily to more than 60 U.S.
cities and international destinations in Canada, the Bahamas, the
Caribbean, Mexico, Latin American, and Europe.
The two were at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport last week to
turn the first shovels of dirt for construction of a new control
tower. The choice between south Florida and Washington in January
must be an easy one.
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