Saturday, July 27, 2013

Beaver County Airport (KBVI), Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania: Runway expansion plans taking off

CHIPPEWA TWP. -- Convinced that the Interstate 376 corridor in Beaver County is poised for development, local officials are jump-starting plans to extend the county airport's runway to accommodate larger planes.

"If this economic boom happens ... all the corporate aircraft would be able to land at our airport," said Dan Donatella, chairman of the Beaver County Airport Authority and a former county commissioner. "Fortune 500 corporations don't fly on US Airways. They have corporate aircraft."

Officials are considering a plan to extend the runway by 500 feet -- 165 feet on one end and 335 feet on the other -- so that it measures 5,000 feet. That's the length that corporate jets need to land and take-off, Donatella said.

Donatella has lobbied for years to lengthen the runway, but Shell Co.'s proposed plan to build a ethane cracker plant in Potter Township has given his case some urgency.

Business and political leaders expect the cracker plant to spur growth in the entire area, especially with companies that would provide support to the cracker plant or use the products made at the plant.

Lengthening the runway, Commissioner Dennis Nichols said, "just seems like a good idea."

Commissioner Joe Spanik said improving the county airport would be just another part of the county's transportation infrastructure -- including highways, rivers and rails -- to attract investment and industry.

Commissioners Chairman Tony Amadio said there are estimates that industries related to the cracker plant could create as many as 18,000 jobs. Those companies, he said, have executives who would want quick and easy access to the area, which the county airport can provide better than Pittsburgh International Airport.

"We're banking on our airport to be an economic generator for us," Amadio said.

Donatella said the county airport could build a new hangar for corporate aircraft. Other benefits to jet-setting executives include no landing fees, cheaper aviation fuel and a hotel that is planned for the nearby intersection of Darlington Road and Cessna Drive.

Any expansion is probably three or four years down the road, Donatella said, but the long process to gain Federal Aviation Administration approval needs to start now to coincide with Shell's building plans.

Donatella hesitated to discuss cost estimates because there are several options being considered and some issues to address, such as a ravine on the west side of the runway.

If ultimately approved, though, 90 percent of the cost to expand the runway would be borne by the FAA while the airport authority and state would contribute 5 percent each.

Source:  http://www.timesonline.com