Three separate projects are under way at Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing Township, N.J., but none involve expanding the facility’s runways, an airport representative said Thursday.
Two of the projects, estimated to run about $16 million each, are required by the Federal Aviation Administration to improve safety, said Jon Donahue, a manager for C&S Companies. The New York-based firm is working with the airport to coordinate the three projects.
Donahue presented an outline of the work on Thursday to the Delaware Regional Aviation Committee in Philadelphia. The committee advises the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission on aviation issues.
A handful of members of Bucks Residents for Responsible Airport Management attended the meeting in the main conference room of the DVRPC in the American College of Physicians Building at Independence Mall West.
The BRRAM members said they were there to gather information to use in their battle to have an Environmental Impact Statement done on the airport. The group members, who primarily are from Lower Makefield and Yardley, said the FAA should have ordered the extensive study after Frontier Airlines started providing commercial service from Trenton-Mercer in late 2012.
The airport’s flight paths cross over many neighborhoods in the two Bucks County municipalities. The Frontier Airlines flights have increased air traffic noise pollution, BRRAM members said. (The airline has temporarily discontinued its service at Trenton-Mercer while the three renovation projects are under way.)
One of the $16 million projects involves installing an Engineered Material Arresting System at the ends of the airport’s runways. The crushable concrete masses, known in aviation circles as EMAS, are used to stop an aircraft from overshooting a runway, according to the FAA.
The other $16 million project is devoted to replacing decaying taxiways, Donahue said. The work is much akin to crews replacing aging roadways, he said.
The FAA is covering 90 percent of the costs associated with the EMAS and taxiway projects, Donahue said. The rest is being financed by state and county money.
The third project should run about $4 million and involves terminal upgrades that include a baggage conveyor belt and construction of two new bathrooms, according to Donahue. The project also will expand the airport’s parking lot from 600 spaces to 1,200 spaces, he said. Mercer County is paying for that work.
Most of the renovations and upgrades should be completed by early November, Donahue said. Frontier Airlines plans to resume service at Trenton-Mercer Nov. 8, officials said.
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