FAA Kicking In $90 Million For The Project

Here's one that even USA Today will have a hard time complaining about, since it involves a major airport with significant commercial traffic. The FAA has awarded a grant to Port Columbus Airport in Columbus, Ohio to replace the facility's south runway, parts of which date back to 1928.  The project is part of a larger revitalization plan that will eventually include a new passenger terminal at the facility.

Television station WCMH in Columbus reports that the estimated cost for the new runway, which will be built 702 feet south of the existing one, is about $160 million. The old runway will be converted into a taxiway as part of the project. There will also be modifications to the airport golf course, installation of new navigation equipment, and demolition of some airport structures. The FAA has committed just over $90 million to the project, and the balance will be paid from Passenger Facility Charges.

The new south runway will be situated far enough from the north runway to allow simultaneous operations, which are expected to begin in 2013. Airport officials say the current terminal, which was built in 1958, will be replaced as passenger conditions warrant, but that it still has the capacity to accommodate as many as 4 million additional passengers per year. Design work is still underway, so no dirt is expected to be turned on the new runway until 2011.

FMI: www.port-columbus.com