Grant to help TDK extension in PTC

Mon, 06/05/2006 - 9:09am
By: John Munford

Maybe TDK Boulevard will be built after all.

A $2 million grant has been secured for Falcon Field to purchase property to the north and expand its runway safety area, U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss announced late Thursday afternoon.

This is the grant that officials have sought so they can route TDK around the northern border of the airport. The project has been on hold for quite some time for various reasons. The latest hold up was over a comment from the Federal Aviation Administration saying that the road design trod right through the airport’s runway safety area, even though it wasn’t on Falcon Field property.

The runway safety area is necessary to give planes an extra amount of length to take off and land in case of an emergency, officials said.

The new road will link with Coweta County at McIntosh Trail via a bridge over Line Creek.

Peachtree City Mayor Harold Logsdon said he was pleased about receiving the grant, but he cautioned that other factors in play including the bridge construction will affect the opening date for the road.

The necessary land is owned by Pathway Communities and the Planterra Ridge Golf Course, the latter of which will also cause a slight delay on construction because the two new golf holes will have to be given a year to establish their grass before they can be played on, Logsdon noted. That means once a deal is reached, it could take a year or more for the city to have that land in its possession for construction.

Although the airport, Pathway and Planterra Ridge officials have been negotiating the real estate transaction, it has not yet been finalized.

Proponents to extend TDK Boulevard have said it will serve as a vital link for workers commuting to the city’s industrial park. Businesses in south Peachtree City — particularly those in the Braelinn Village shopping center — are also hoping to reap the windfall of the additional traffic the road will bring.

The project has suffered numerous delays over the years; city officials originally hoped to have it ready to be a traffic relief valve when the state began construction on the widening of Ga. Highway 54 West between Peachtree City and Coweta County.

“This is great news for Peachtree City,” Isakson said. “It is very gratifying to have this level of federal support for our state and for a facility as important as the Peachtree City Falcon Field Airport.”

The grant will come through the federal Department of Transportation. Coweta County has already started its portion of the road construction.

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Submitted by dopplerobserver on Tue, 06/06/2006 - 3:13pm.

Wow! Developers are having land condemned all over the country for roads and houses, etc., and our government can't proceed?

G35 Dude's picture
Submitted by G35 Dude on Tue, 06/06/2006 - 3:07pm.

So now we wait another year for grass to grow on the golf course before we can get this much needed traffic relief ? I work at NCR in PTC and almost have to risk life and limb to get onto Hwy 74 at quitting time because of this traffic. I'm so glad that further delays will be for such a good cause !


PTC Guy's picture
Submitted by PTC Guy on Mon, 06/05/2006 - 8:40pm.

Good news.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.


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