Document text
New terminal planned at airport Medford facility could open in 6 years, partly because of federal funds By David Preszler A new terminal that would double passenger capacity is in the works at Medford�s airport, thanks in part to a new boost in federal funding. Within five years, airport officials hope to be in full construction, with the new terminal opening in six or seven years, according to airport director Bern Case. Passenger traffic continues to set records � June was the busiest month ever � and Case says the current terminal is already insufficient at peak times. "If we stay on the pace we are right now, we�ll have over 500,000 passengers for the year 2000," says Case. "We�ve stretched this terminal as far as we can." The terminal would likely cost $10 million or more, depending on the specifics, and would be funded by federal money and airport receipts. A study to explore design options is in its final stages, and Case hopes an option will be chosen by September. All the options call for the new terminal to be at or near the site of the current terminal. A new federal funding package for the nation�s airports passed earlier this summer is expected to help make the Medford terminal happen. For each of the next three years, the nation�s airports will get more than $3 billion for physical improvements. The bill essentially doubles the federal funding for Oregon�s six commercial airports. It increases Medford�s annual entitlement from $944,128 to $1,888,256. Initially, the extra funding will pay for accessories to the 2,100-foot runway extension now under way. While other money is paying for the runway itself, the new federal dollars will finance things such as a taxiway, drainage and the moving of aviation instruments. The federal money must be spent on physical improvements. In addition to the runway accessories, other smaller projects such as improving traffic flow in the parking lot and into the airport itself are also scheduled. But the big prize is clearly the terminal. "Within the next five years, we will be building a new terminal," Case says. Studies on the current terminal show that it is already 15 to 40 percent, depending on time of year, beyond capacity. Passenger traffic has grown steadily, and last month�s total of 47,804 arriving and departing passengers marked the best month in the airport�s history. That mark may not stand long, since July and August are traditionally the busiest months. June�s total topped the previous record of 47,564 set in August 1999; it was the best June ever by a wider margin, topping the 45,658 passengers that came through in June 1998. In 1999, 456,000 passengers passed through the airport, and Case expects this year�s traffic to top the half million mark. The growth pushes Medford closer to reaching the regional hub designation that Case says will help draw more carriers, and thus lower ticket prices. But the growth also magnifies the need for a larger terminal. Case says the airport is looking for a project large enough to be sufficient for the next 20 to 30 years. A study by Kansas City-based Kaufman and Associates on different options is "90 percent" complete, Case says. "There are several models," he says. "We haven�t decided which one is the best." One alternative may be to build a larger terminal in roughly the same spot as the current one. Other options have different locations, all in the general vicinity of the current one. All the options will feature a second-level concourse so passengers can walk directly onto the planes without climbing a ramp. The terminal would be paid for by a combined of federal funding, airport operations money and passenger facility charges � fees that are tacked on to airline tickets. The new federal funding package provides $3.2 billion to 63 airports in fiscal year 2001, $3.3 billion in 2002 and $3.4 billion in 2003. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA