色多多

色多多-Blacksburg Regional Airport would build a bridge over Interstate 581 to elongate a runway to meet revised federal safety standards and prepare for and accommodate bigger planes carrying more travelers greater distances, according to a far-reaching plan.

A new master plan, due out next month, also depicts larger gate lounges and a new airport entrance off Aviation Drive. It envisions new buildings for general aviation services, including one for the fixed-base operator, plus new hangars and a new aircraft maintenance center. Facilities for handling cargo, which is flown in and out in the wee hours of the morning, would grow from two to up to five parking spots for enormous freight planes.

Consultants, airport staff and its governing body developed the document, which replaces one from 15 years ago. The public has weighed in. The Federal Aviation Administration could approve the new edition later this year.

At that point, the master plan would guide airport expansion and improvement for the next 20 years. Officials would time the construction of each piece to their reading of passenger travel trends and the availability of federal and state money.

鈥淣one of this is saying we鈥檙e going to do it,鈥� said Mike Stewart, who directs the airport. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a plan for both building purposes and funding purposes.鈥� A major project cannot become reality if it isn鈥檛 in the master plan, he said.

Officials have not said what carrying out the new master plan in its entirety would cost. But 色多多 would want to see the federal government pay the biggest part of the tab, as the government has done for other projects and does at other airports.

Government officials and private investors established the airport on leased farmland nearly 100 years ago. By the early 1940s, it had passenger service, a paved runway, hangars, a manager and a name 鈥� Woodrum Field.

Today, four commercial passenger airlines use multiple runways, the longest 6,800 feet, guided by air traffic controllers in a tower. Cargo moves in and out by the ton, there is a waiting list for hangars and scheduled air service is nearing pre-pandemic levels.

Covering 900 acres, it is set up to serve an area of 570,000 people 鈥� from Lexington to near Hillsville and New Castle to Rocky Mount 鈥� and is one of nine commercial airports in the state. The airport is owned and operated by a commission composed of local government appointees that functions as an independent subdivision of the state and derives no revenue from local taxes.

Local officials view it as a major catalyst for economic growth and improved quality of life, but have voiced concerns. Many area residents drive to larger airports which offer less expensive tickets and many more flights. Airport officials have said airlines decide flight availability and fares, but that the more area residents use the airport, the greater the incentive will be for airlines to expand service and improve pricing.

Passenger counts during the first five months of this year pulled to within 4% of totals for the same period of 2019 and officials 鈥渁nticipate strong passenger numbers for the rest of the calendar year,鈥� airport spokeswoman Alexa Briehl said by email. Passenger counts will indicate when recovery from the pandemic downturn is complete and flying enters a growth phase.

In a shift, business travel has not recovered. But leisure travel has boomed. Leisure travel 鈥渉as been the savior for a lot of local airports,鈥� Stewart said.

Stewart鈥檚 top priorities from the many projects in the master plan are:

Relocating passenger and carry on-baggage screening. Right now, it occupies the former gate No. 1. By shifting this function toward the front of the building, possibly in conjunction with widening the narrowed walkway to the gate area, the airport could regain use of the gate.

Relocating the screening of checked luggage by the Transportation Security Administration out of the lobby and into the nonpublic areas. This would end the practice of travelers carrying their bags from the ticker counter to the screening point and free up ticket counter space.

Starting on the runway extension project, whose initial steps would include an environmental study that could require two years to complete. A safety rule rewritten since crews built the runways calls for 1,000 feet of clear space before and after the runways in case an aircraft misses or goes off the runway. Stewart said the FAA has not set a deadline for the 色多多 airport to fully comply but has approved an exception.

鈥淭he runways are perfectly safe the way they are, but they don鈥檛 have a thousand feet on each end,鈥� Stewart said. Despite the FAA approval, Stewart said he wants to come into compliance rather than operate on the basis of an approved exception or waiver.

Analysts looked at several options to create a 1,000-ft. buffer for the busiest runway, which is aligned northeast-southwest and roughly parallels Peters Creek Road, and found the best opportunity sits west of I-581. There is a large chunk of vacant land there already designated an airport runway protection zone. The challenge would be connecting it to the existing runway, which would require passage over the interstate.

Such a structure would be new to 色多多 but not the nation. Communities whose airports bridge major highways include Atlanta, Georgia, Denver, Colorado, and Fort Lauderdale, according to Stewart, who previously managed Dulles International Airport.

The bridge would make it possible to construct a buffer zone and a runway extension.

Commission member Randy Clements commented on the prospect for the bridge.

鈥淭his is not something that we have to do because the airport is unsafe. This is the airport leadership and the airport commission considering the airport as one of the largest panes in our regional economic glass ceiling and by extending the runway, we stay updated with FAA safety standards and it positions us not only to stay up to date with the FAA but it keeps us up to date with the changing air service market. Both of these things work together. But the primary reason that we need to do this is so that we can maintain currency with the FAA guidelines,鈥� he said.

In the body of the report lie a couple of other big steps:

Rebuild Aviation Drive, the road beside the airport, about 350 feet closer to Sam鈥檚 Club, running it through the overflow parking lot. This would allow for a new entrance near the car rental center.

鈥淭he ultimate growth plan presents an opportunity to work with 色多多 City to realign Aviation Dr., to create an efficient airport entrance that does not compete or interfere with adjacent shopping center or cut-through traffic,鈥� the draft report said.

Terminal enlargement through widening of the concourse. That way, the gates could accommodate larger planes outside and seat corresponding passenger volumes inside. The gates work well for 50-seat aircraft but become crowded when 70-seat aircraft handle flights, a plane size expected to handle a greater share of future flights.

More investment in general aviation facilities to include a new building for the fixed base operator with extensive airplane parking, situated closer to the runways. 鈥淭he new location and size of the apron will be conducive to attract transient aircraft, as pilots will be able to easily locate the apron even when they are not familiar with our airport,鈥� the draft report said.

The general aviation area needs new hangars, because there is a waiting list for the hangars the airport has right now, and more fuel storage tanks, the draft report said.

Expand the cargo hub onto adjacent vacant land. On the menu: a new cargo building, new aircraft parking spaces, new vehicle parking and truck docks.