4/9/14 Airport runway project will include GIS survey

  • By Nick Sabo
  • April 9, 2014
  • 404
                        
SUMMARY: Cost to airport still unknown A runway construction project underway at the Holmes County Airport will be amended to include data collection for an aviation-related geographic information system that is currently under development by the Federal Aviation Administration. Brian Crosier, airport engineer for Stantec Consulting Services, informed the Holmes County Airport Authority Monday April 7 that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will require a survey of the airport to collect information that will be included on a GIS database of airports. The survey could cost as much as $20,000, Crosier said, and must be completed when the new runway is finished. The airport authority could be in for the whole amount of the survey, Crosier said, although the FAA has said they may add it to the grant that is funding the final construction phase of the new runway. If the cost can be added to the grant, the airport authority will still have to pay 10 percent of the survey’s cost. Holmes County Airport Authority Treasurer Mary Hoxworth said the survey could pose a burden if it is not included in the grant and the airport authority has to pay for it all. The runway project has exhausted the airport authority’s savings for capital improvements, and next year’s carryover is expected to come in around $11,000. “Ten percent is not a problem,” Hoxworth said. “It could be a burden if we have to pay for all of it. It’s tied to the (runway) project so we’d have to come up with the money somehow.” Crosier said Stantec’s survey group is looking through the requirements of the GIS survey, which are spelled out in a 478 page document. The GIS will include multiple layers, including elevation, obstructions and profiles, and will further require some photography, Crosier said. Crosier said more information on the GIS will be forthcoming. “The problem is, our survey team haven’t done many of these and don’t know how much work is involved,” Crosier said. The GIS data will have to wait until the airport’s new runway is complete. Bad weather in fall and continued cold temperatures into spring have held up the project, which Crosier said is about two months from completion. Crosier said contractor R.F. Skurlock has asked to wait until May before starting construction. According to Crosier, Skurlock said the excessive cold and precipitation of winter has left the ground saturated and time is needed for it to dry out. The new runway will measure 4,400 feet and will be able to accommodate small jets. Jet traffic is expected to bring in more revenues to the airport in the form of fuel sales, and the airport authority is exploring options to build a new hangar, leasing the bays to jets. The new runway is located 140 feet south of, and parallel to, the current runway. Once the new runway is complete, the old runway will be vacated and removed.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load