06-10-2017, 10:22 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-10-2017, 10:29 AM by thorn bird.)
Interesting article from BCA Magazine digest.
It highlights the difference between the USA and Australia. In the US airports are considered very valuable pieces of public infrastructure. In Australia airports are considered greenfield undeveloped land ripe for exploit by development sharks to build shopping centres on.
Sometimes you come upon a physical construct of such wrongheadedness the question that naturally follows is, “What were they thinking?”
Examples I’ve seen include new housing going up at a military base soon to be closed forever; the chilling J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington; or a Pontiac Aztec, anywhere, among others. You have your own examples, I’m sure.
That question came to mind when I considered the placement of the campus of the Ridgeland-Hardeeville High and Ridgeland Elementary schools. The facilities are less than two miles up Grays Highway from downtown Ridgeland, South Carolina, which is certainly convenient for the teachers, students and their families. But the buildings, which opened to classes five years ago, sit a half mile or less from the north end of and directly in line with Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport’s Runway 3/21.
Considering that, statistically, takeoffs and landings are the most hazardous phases of flight, why put school kids in the danger zone? I don’t know what circumstances and considerations were involved at the time of site selection, but I do know one consequence: 3J1 is moving its runway. And for reasons beyond the schools’ nearby location.
First off, at 2,692 feet in length, the single runway is inadequate for most business aircraft. However, the runway is constrained by the highway to the north and a so-called “Great Swamp” to the south, so it has no way to grow. Secondly, there’s the tree. It continues to grow on an airport neighbor’s property and juts into the approach/departure plane. All requests to cut the thing have been spurned; the owner considers it a natural protector of his house from errant aircraft.
When all factors were considered, those things resulted in the decision to build a new 4,200 foot runway, oriented directly north and south, thus keeping aircraft well away from the schools. Once Runway 18/36 is completed in 2018, Runway 3/21 will be closed permanently.
According to James Stephens, the executive director of the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, that years-long project has involved “soft costs” such as surveying, title research, land valuations, etc., and “hard costs” including land acquisition, grading, construction and such. By the time Runway 18/36 is fully open for business, roughly $20 million will have been invested in it.
Now, Ridgeland is a fine small town, the proud seat of Jasper County, located off Interstate 95 about 30 mi. northeast of Savannah, Georgia. It has some 4,000 of the county’s 27,000 residents, is the birthplace of Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton, the first African-American pilot in the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, houses a medium-security state prison, and is home to the estimable Lowcountry Soaring Association.
All that notwithstanding, the county, which owns the airport, doesn’t have a spare $20 million to spend on a new runway at the general aviation facility. Fortunately, the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) does, mostly.
Although created in 1982, the AIP traces it roots back to 1946 when the federal government embarked on a program to develop and improve public-use airports across the country. Today’s program, funded through user fees, fuel taxes and other revenue sources, continues that tradition and for that same purpose.
Basically the program reimburses eligible, public-use airports for capital expenditures, including runways, taxiways, ramps, fencing, signage, lighting, tree clearing, airline passenger terminals and such, and associated costs. The feds underwrite 90% of the bill, with the proviso that the airport then must maintain the improvements for the next 20 years.
Further, in South Carolina and elsewhere, the state will pony up for 5% of the cost, which means the airport owner gets a 95% discount on the final tab. Thus Jasper Countians’ new $20 million airport improvement will cost them $1 million. A pretty good deal by any measure.
The AIP outlays some $3.35 billion in grants annually, a figure Mark Kimberling, president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials, would like to see increased, as would South Carolina’s Stephens.
President Donald Trump has promoted the idea of investing $1 trillion in transportation infrastructure improvements, including airports. However, he’s tied that to public/private partnerships. Maybe high-traffic ports like LaGuardia, Atlanta-Hartsfield and LAX can deliver the returns hedge funders might demand, but 3J1? I think not.
Kimberling describes such facilities as “the heart” of our national airports system and their sustenance relies on traditional funding through the AIP, which both he and Stephens say the FAA manages with competence.
So, what were those government planners thinking so many years ago? That airports are valuable transportation assets and deserve a national support system. Good thinking, indeed.
It highlights the difference between the USA and Australia. In the US airports are considered very valuable pieces of public infrastructure. In Australia airports are considered greenfield undeveloped land ripe for exploit by development sharks to build shopping centres on.
Sometimes you come upon a physical construct of such wrongheadedness the question that naturally follows is, “What were they thinking?”
Examples I’ve seen include new housing going up at a military base soon to be closed forever; the chilling J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington; or a Pontiac Aztec, anywhere, among others. You have your own examples, I’m sure.
That question came to mind when I considered the placement of the campus of the Ridgeland-Hardeeville High and Ridgeland Elementary schools. The facilities are less than two miles up Grays Highway from downtown Ridgeland, South Carolina, which is certainly convenient for the teachers, students and their families. But the buildings, which opened to classes five years ago, sit a half mile or less from the north end of and directly in line with Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport’s Runway 3/21.
Considering that, statistically, takeoffs and landings are the most hazardous phases of flight, why put school kids in the danger zone? I don’t know what circumstances and considerations were involved at the time of site selection, but I do know one consequence: 3J1 is moving its runway. And for reasons beyond the schools’ nearby location.
First off, at 2,692 feet in length, the single runway is inadequate for most business aircraft. However, the runway is constrained by the highway to the north and a so-called “Great Swamp” to the south, so it has no way to grow. Secondly, there’s the tree. It continues to grow on an airport neighbor’s property and juts into the approach/departure plane. All requests to cut the thing have been spurned; the owner considers it a natural protector of his house from errant aircraft.
When all factors were considered, those things resulted in the decision to build a new 4,200 foot runway, oriented directly north and south, thus keeping aircraft well away from the schools. Once Runway 18/36 is completed in 2018, Runway 3/21 will be closed permanently.
According to James Stephens, the executive director of the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission, that years-long project has involved “soft costs” such as surveying, title research, land valuations, etc., and “hard costs” including land acquisition, grading, construction and such. By the time Runway 18/36 is fully open for business, roughly $20 million will have been invested in it.
Now, Ridgeland is a fine small town, the proud seat of Jasper County, located off Interstate 95 about 30 mi. northeast of Savannah, Georgia. It has some 4,000 of the county’s 27,000 residents, is the birthplace of Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton, the first African-American pilot in the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, houses a medium-security state prison, and is home to the estimable Lowcountry Soaring Association.
All that notwithstanding, the county, which owns the airport, doesn’t have a spare $20 million to spend on a new runway at the general aviation facility. Fortunately, the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP) does, mostly.
Although created in 1982, the AIP traces it roots back to 1946 when the federal government embarked on a program to develop and improve public-use airports across the country. Today’s program, funded through user fees, fuel taxes and other revenue sources, continues that tradition and for that same purpose.
Basically the program reimburses eligible, public-use airports for capital expenditures, including runways, taxiways, ramps, fencing, signage, lighting, tree clearing, airline passenger terminals and such, and associated costs. The feds underwrite 90% of the bill, with the proviso that the airport then must maintain the improvements for the next 20 years.
Further, in South Carolina and elsewhere, the state will pony up for 5% of the cost, which means the airport owner gets a 95% discount on the final tab. Thus Jasper Countians’ new $20 million airport improvement will cost them $1 million. A pretty good deal by any measure.
The AIP outlays some $3.35 billion in grants annually, a figure Mark Kimberling, president and CEO of the National Association of State Aviation Officials, would like to see increased, as would South Carolina’s Stephens.
President Donald Trump has promoted the idea of investing $1 trillion in transportation infrastructure improvements, including airports. However, he’s tied that to public/private partnerships. Maybe high-traffic ports like LaGuardia, Atlanta-Hartsfield and LAX can deliver the returns hedge funders might demand, but 3J1? I think not.
Kimberling describes such facilities as “the heart” of our national airports system and their sustenance relies on traditional funding through the AIP, which both he and Stephens say the FAA manages with competence.
So, what were those government planners thinking so many years ago? That airports are valuable transportation assets and deserve a national support system. Good thinking, indeed.