| Author |
Message |
Newshound (Newshound)
| | Posted on Friday, September 03, 2004 - 5:32 am: | |
Sept. 3-Inland-Airport master plan projects growth,Press-Enterprise
INLAND: The draft calls for the San Bernardino facility to attract nearly 400,000 fliers by 2008.
01:30 AM PDT on Friday, September 3, 2004
By PHIL PITCHFORD / The Press-Enterprise
San Bernardino International Airport could evolve in the next 20 years to where it serves about as many passengers each year as Long Beach Airport and moves as many as 750,000 tons of cargo, according to a draft master plan presented Thursday.
The plan, which projects growth at the airfield portion of the former Norton Air Force Base, is the first step toward additional funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. The money would pay for runway extensions and new buildings the airport will need to accommodate that expected growth.
An airport cannot seek such federal funding without an approved master plan in place, said Jim Gourley, a consultant who is shepherding the master-plan process for the San Bernardino International Airport Authority, the collection of local governments that controls the facility.
Kurt Miller / The Press-Enterprise
A draft master plan for improvements at the San Bernardino Airport was presented on Thursday. The plan is the first step toward getting additional funding from the Federal Aviation Administration which would pay for runway extensions and new buildings.
Once a 30-day period for public comment ends early next month, the authority will be able to approve the draft master plan and begin related environmental studies, Gourley said. Once the environmental work is completed, the airport can begin to aggressively seek funding for expansion.
The plan by consultant HNTB Corp. predicts a range of outcomes, said Tim Merwin, a project manager for the company. In past years, former military bases were likely to realize very little development once such studies were done, but that is changing as airports around the country reach their capacity, he said.
"That is going to bring former military bases into much greater demand, both with air cargo and passenger service," Merwin said.
Initial projections call for the San Bernardino airport to attract nearly 400,000 passengers and 410,000 tons of cargo by 2008, increasing to more than 900,000 passengers and 500,525 tons of cargo by 2013. The study projects that by 2023 the airport could serve as many as 2.5 million passengers and nearly 750,000 tons of cargo.
The airport's original master plan, which is about 10 years old, called for passenger service to make up most of the airport's development. But passenger service has instead grown at Ontario International Airport, while air cargo has emerged as a more likely source for growth in San Bernardino.
Cargo service is reaching its limit at Los Angeles International Airport, meaning more of that business will likely shift to Ontario and, eventually, San Bernardino.
"It certainly points out the need to extend that runway," San Bernardino Mayor Judith Valles said. "If we are going to take some of the load off Ontario and Los Angeles, we need to be ready."
HNTB, the consultant, is preparing a similar document for the Ontario airport, which is owned by the city of Los Angeles. Merwin said the respective plans for Ontario and San Bernardino are being prepared in cooperation with one another, not in competition.
|
|