Friday, October 19,
2001
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Runway expansion could be delayed By JOHN
THOMPSON
The proposed expansion of a fifth runway at Hartsfield International Airport could be delayed because of two separate events. The first was the Sept.11 terroristic attacks, which crippled air travel in the country. The second event has evolved in the last month when the Atlanta City Council balked at signing a $360 million contact for fill dirt at the site. "Everybody's talking about that dirt. But my feeling is that when there's that much money involved, there's bound to be corruption," said Fulton County Commissioner Bill Edwards. The quagmire over the lone bid for the dirt has smudged Hartsfield General Manager Ben DeCosta's reputation and has caused members of the Atlanta City Council to publicly chastise DeCosta's handling of the bid. While Edwards believes the runway will eventually be built, he's starting to wonder how the financial end of the deal will be completed. "Delta committed to a big part of the costs. I wonder what they'll do now," he said. Edwards said that if Delta finds the money to pay for the runway expansion instead of not cutting jobs, he will know that they're not interested in the "human factor." In the meantime, Edwards wants a response from DeCosta in November to Fulton County's mitigation plan for residents and businesses affected by the expansion. "We submitted it a few months ago, but I haven't heard a thing," he said.
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