Friday, July 15, 2005

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Latest TDK holdup is wait for FAA grant

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The roadblock now in the way of construction of the TDK Boulevard road extension is a funding issue.

Money is needed to acquire the right-of-way for the new road path, which will loop around the runway safety area for Falcon Field Airport. That land is currently two and a half golf holes at the Planterra Ridge Golf Club, according to John Crosby, manager of Falcon Field Airport.

Airport officials hope to secure a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to buy the land needed for the TDK right-of-way, because the land will allow it to extend the runway length and enhance the safety area at a future date, Crosby said.

It doesn’t look like the process was done in time to qualify for the grants the FAA will award in October, Crosby said.

Part of the reason was due to the timing of the road design, which wasn’t in the authority’s control, Crosby noted. But as officials learned with the FAA grant to purchase 60 acres for new hangar area space last year, sometimes the grants are awarded with little warning, Crosby noted.

Negotiations are underway to determine how much the purchase price of the land will be, Crosby said. In addition to the golf course land, one other parcel needed is currently owned by Pathway Communities.

Technically, the City of Peachtree City is responsible for acquiring all right-of-way needed for the project, which will link Peachtree City with east Coweta County and include a bridge over Line Creek. Fayette County has agreed to build the portion of the road in Peachtree City, and Coweta has agreed to build the road needed in its jurisdiction.

Coweta County has already begun grading its portion of the road.

Business officials laud the project as another way for employees of the city’s industrial park to get to work, and as a way to rejuvenate the Braelinn Village shopping center with extra customers.

The road has been redesigned twice, the latest coming after it was discovered the road path went directly through the airport’s runway safety zone, which includes some property the airport doesn’t own. The Airport Authority kicked in $10,000 for the redesign earlier this year after some city council members resisted paying any more money for the project.

The project has been in the works since March 2000 when the City Council approved the contract for the design and engineering of the road extension. The original design was scrapped to avoid a conflict with the proposed spillway for Lake McIntosh, a reservoir that hasn’t yet been permitted for construction.

So far, the city has spent roughly $550,000 for the project.