Tahlequah, OK Ready to Lengthen Runway

Officials in Tahlequah, Oklahoma are looking to the air to attract business on the ground.

Crews will start expanding the runway of the Tahlequah Municipal Airport from 4,000 feet to 5,000 feet in about three weeks, Mayor Ken Purdy said Wednesday.

The $2 million project will cost the city $100,000, he said. The rest of the cost will be paid by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission.

It will help attract business to the city, Purdy said.

?Airport traffic development ... is just as important as putting roadways on the ground,? he said. ?It?s a critical economic development tool. Economic development is not going to happen if you can?t service business aircraft in your community.?

The runway expansion is necessary because many business airplanes will land only on a 5,000-foot runway, Purdy said.

The project should be completed within four months.

Purdy said the city is in the middle of a growth spurt. It?s the seventh-fastest growing city in Oklahoma among cities with a population greater than 10,000, he said.

The city has grown from 14,500 residents in 2000 to about 16,500. The airport also serves smaller towns in eastern Oklahoma, Purdy said.

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