The Peachtree City Airport Authority is waiting for written appraisals on two pieces of property it needs to acquire so the path for the TDK Boulevard extension can be routed around the runway safety area for Falcon Field.

Once the appraisals are in hand, negotiations can begin with Pathway Communities, which owns one of the parcels, said Airport Manager John Crosby. The other parcel is the one really needed by the airport, which consists of a chunk of Planterra Ridge Golf Club. The plan is to swap the Pathway parcel to the golf course so the layout of several holes can be changed to make room for the road path, Crosby explained.

The part of the golf course needed for the road won’t be available until the new golf holes are ready to play on, which could take several months, Crosby indicated.

The authority anticipates getting a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to pay for the land purchase because it will enhance safety at the airport. The grant might not be available immediately, so the authority may have to take out a loan to purchase the Pathway tract to get the ball rolling for construction on the road extension, officials said.

The road path has been the main stumbling block to the start of construction on the Peachtree City side of the road, which will ultimately link with McIntosh Trail in Coweta County. The Fayette County Commission has agreed to build the road, but the city is on the hook for land acquisition and engineering costs.

In December of last year, the city was faced with a $38,000 estimate to redesign the road around the airport’s runway safety area, and several city council members opposed spending more money on the project because the city had already spent $550,000 for its share. But the Airport Authority got the ball rolling by donating $10,000 for the redesign, and city officials negotiated with the engineering firm to dramatically cut the estimate.

The road project is seen as critical by the business community and the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, particularly because it will bring additional patrons to the Braelinn Village shopping center and provide another path for workers to commute to the city’s industrial park.

Back in 2000 when the City Council first approved the original design and engineering contract for the road, the TDK extension was viewed as important so it could be on-line when the construction of the Ga. Highway 54 widening began. The Hwy. 54 project began this summer and is due to be completed by the end of June.