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Airport needs extra 1,000 feet for runway safety area; requires more land, partial reroute of TDK Blvd. in coming years By JOHN
MUNFORD
A new safety regulation from the Federal Aviation Administration will eventually require a 1,000-foot "safety overrun" area to be added to Falcon Field's runway. The extra room would allow departing planes to safely abort takeoff if necessary, but it will not allow larger aircraft to land at Falcon Field, said Airport Manager Jim Savage. "This is not about getting bigger airplanes to land here," Savage said. "... It's so pilots can abort takeoff and not do significant damage to the aircraft." The safety overrun area project won't happen for "at least five years" and no official cost estimates have been compiled, Savage said. He guessed the project will cost over $3 million, perhaps running as high as $4.5 million. Although the project is low on the Airport Authority's priority list, authority members have begun talking about it because of the unique challenges it brings. The matter will be discussed at a special authority retreat that is planned for April. There isn't enough room on the airport's property to add the extra 1,000 feet necessary for the project. And since the runway is blocked off to the south by the CSX railroad track, the only way to expand would be north towards the Planterra Ridge Golf Course. By the time the project is ready to go, another obstacle will have been built between the airport and the golf course: TDK Boulevard, which will extend into Coweta County to provide another route from Coweta to Peachtree City's industrial park. "This will not impede TDK as it is currently planned," Savage said. To make room for the new safety overrun area, the city will need to purchase two holes of the golf course so a new path for a portion of the TDK extension could "snake" around the extra area needed for the runway safety overrun, Savage said. The new route would be built first so it wouldn't be necessary for TDK Blvd. to be shut down, he said. Savage also wants the authority to consider paving the safety overrun area, which would give corporate jets more "breathing room" on takeoff but still wouldn't allow larger aircraft to land here, Savage said. "In the warmer air, it takes longer to get airborne during takeoff," Savage said. "It's more of a factor for jets because they're heavier than other aircraft." The FAA doesn't require the runway safety overrun to be paved, but it wants the land to meet certain specifications which will require a certain amount of grading activity, Savage noted. Currently Falcon Field's runway is 5,200 feet long. The safety overrun would extend the runway to 6,200 feet for departures only, with the length remaining 5,200 feet for incoming aircraft, Savage said. It's likely that most of the project including the rerouting of the TDK Boulevard extension would be paid for by the FAA, Savage said. "We have no clue when that money is coming," Savage noted. The project is listed on the airport's master plan, but it is not one its list of high-priority projects. The authority is expected to talk about this project and many others at a special retreat in April. But authority chairwoman Cathy Nelmes said she wanted to briefly address the City Council on the matter at its retreat which is scheduled to begin Friday, March 7. While Nelmes said she wished the authority could make a decision on the matter Wednesday night at its regular meeting, she added, "I just don't think we have enough information to do it."
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