Airport expansion achieves takeoff

Along with the airplanes, visitors to the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport are likely to notice bulldozers, big trucks and lots of heavy equipment.

Several different construction projects are under way and ac-cording to Director of Aviation Rob Hancik, they are divided into two categories: land-side, which is buildings, and air-side, which includes runways, ramps and taxiways.

On the land

One project, the $10 million intermodal ground transportation facility, is nearing completion. Hancik said an Aug. 27 dedication ceremony is planned for the project, which includes a baggage-claim area three times larger than before and room for eight rental car companies instead of just four.

The intermodal facility project includes parking lot expansion and roadway improvements that will allow motor coaches to deliver their passengers without having to compete with regular automobile traffic in front of the airport.

Hancik added that the intermodal facility will provide a "seamless transfer" for motorcoach passengers and their luggage from the motorcoach to the airplane.

The intermodal facility addresses needs revealed by a terminal area study.

"Our current facilities have a number of deficiencies, and we needed to correct those deficiencies. Those had to deal with entrance roadway problems, the parking lot was too small, bag claim was too small, we don't have enough parking positions or gates and (there was) the desire to get the motorcoaches off of our roads," Hancik said.

He noted that the intermodal facility won't address all of those needs, and that's going to lead to another project, one identified as the T4 Midfield Terminal Project.

"The big item that drives it all is that this current (terminal) site is landlocked. We can't do any more at this site," he said.

Based on the terminal area study, Hancik said, with anticipated conservative passenger growth of about 3.5 percent each year, the airport needs to have the new terminal facility to handle about 1 million passengers by 2016.

"The community leaders would like us to speed that project up and shave six to 10 years off that (survey) timeline, so we could have it in place in advance of the need," Hancik said.

And that, he said, would be a change.

"Quite frankly, historically here, we've always built capital improvements after we need them. We've always been behind the eight ball."

Initial planning is done for the Midfield Terminal, and Hancik said the Airport Board will address those plans at its next meeting, and decide whether to begin the next stage, which will include an environmental site assessment.

Air-related projects

The extension of the airport's short runway from 5,600 feet to 8,000 feet is in progress. The taxiways associated with the expansion also are being put in, and a second instrument landing system is included in the project as well. The entire project costs about $34 million, with the runway accounting for about $14.7 million of the total. Hancik said phase I of the extension should be finished by Christmas.

The extension is necessary so that in 2002 the airport can move forward with the reconstruction of the primary runway, which is 7,000 feet long, he said. "It's 28 years old, and it needs to be rebuilt."

Site preparation and taxiway construction to access planned expansion to the General Aviation area is set to begin immediately. That project, Hancik said, costs about $400,000 and is being funded by the state of Missouri.

Financial assistance

U.S. Sen. Kit Bond June 7 announced a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Hancik said that money paid for 17 fire suits for airport staff, and it represents about 90 percent of the funds needed to buy faster, more efficient snow removal equipment.

At the local level, Springfield City Council June 25 approved a bill to accept a series of grants from the FAA worth up to $30.2 million. Those grants will fund runway and taxiway extensions and installation of fencing and the instrument landing system.

Customer needs

According to Sherry Wallace, director of marketing and communications for the airport, in 2000 it moved more than 713,000 passengers. In the past decade the number of passengers has increased about 10 percent.

The airport also moves a lot of cargo, she said. Of the more than 500 airports in the United States, the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport ranks No. 113 for the amount of cargo moved.

Both Wallace and Hancik agreed that all of the improvements either planned or under way at the airport are designed to benefit the people who use it. To get up-to-date information about what customers need, Wallace said passenger surveys are regularly conducted.

One survey, done in June in cooperation with the Springfield Business and Development Corporation, focused spe-cifically on business travelers.

"A big part of our job is getting more and more air services in Springfield, and the first thing that airlines want to know is where business travelers are going," she said.

While the data from that survey isn't yet finalized, Wallace said an interesting preliminary finding is that Atlanta is the top pick of cities that business travelers would like to have air service to, followed by Phoenix and Orlando, another popular choice.