Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Elizabethton Municipal Airport (0A9) seeks to expand runway at the cost of 12 homes

WJHL.com  

ELIZABETHTON, TN (WJHL) - 
Elizabethton Municipal Airport officials want to be able to use its entire runway, but can't until 12 homes close to the end of the runway are gone.

So the airport is acquiring those homes.

"We've lived here almost 16 years" Melissa Grindstaff who live on Sunrise Drive said.

Sixteen years, now in boxes on her front porch, and for her husband the memories on Sunrise Drive go back even further.

"My husband has either lived in this house or the house right across the fence, he was actually raised there. So for other than about six months when we first got married he has been on one side or the other. So for 53 years he's been on Sunrise Drive," Grindstaff said.

She said though it's tough emotionally, the airport has contracted out agencies to help them with the process, getting them a realtor and providing them with a new house. "For us, yesterday marked exactly one month from the time we signed the papers agreeing to what they were offering us, to today we signed the papers on our new house,' Grindstaff said.

The airport has the funds to buy these homes through a grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division.

"It's going to give us a full length use of our runway, and that would be the precursor to being able to extend our runway in the future," Elizabethton Municipal Airport Manager Dan Cogan said.

Cogan said the second part of the plan, actually extending the runway to 5,000 feet could happen within a year.

He said as of right now no other homes will need to be demolished for that extension.

Right now the runway is at 4,600 feet, but because the 12 houses are in the runway protection zone, planes can't use the entire runway.

"The state also has a desire to have all the airports in Tennessee eventually have a 5,000 foot runway, which is one of the critical numbers for safe operations," Cogan said. "It'll allow our existing customers to a much greater safety margin, better for operating in wet environments, wet runways, also allows them to take a greater fuel load when they leave."

Grindstaff said it's no doubt emotional leaving the place her family grew up in.

"I have two older kids and this is the only home that they've ever known so it's kind of hard for them because you know this has been it," Grindstaff said.

But she's looking at the bright side.

"We're excited about it though., we were able to find something that is awesome. And you know we look forward to moving forward but it's going to be hard not being here," Grindstaff said.

- Source:  http://www.wjhl.com

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