Oct. 22--CARTHAGE -- Improvements under way at the Moore County Airport will help it handle the large number of planes expected in June 2014 when the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open are played in Pinehurst.
The two championships will be played on the famed No. 2 Course at Pinehurst Resort in consecutive weeks. It will be the first time the two tournaments are being played on the same course in back-to-back weeks.
The airport projects will cost about $8.8 million, said Steve Borden, executive director of the airport. They are being paid for with federal and state grants and local money from taxes on hotel rooms.
The upgrades will make the airport safer, Borden said.
"The side benefit is it's going to help when we have all the traffic for the U.S. Open," he said.
The airport had about 3,200 takeoffs and landings in a week when the U.S. Open was played at Pinehurst in 2005. In a typical week, the airport has about 100 takeoffs and landings, Borden said.
A 2012 study showed that the airport has an economic impact of about $35.2 million a year and supports more than 260 jobs, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation's Division of Aviation.
The work in progress includes adding 400 feet to the northeast end of the 5,500-foot runway and 600 feet to the southwest end. Work on the northeast end is expected to be finished by March, with construction on the other end scheduled to be complete in about a year.
The improvements are not considered runway extensions because planes will not use the extra space to land, Borden said.
If planes used the extra pavement to land, the airport's runway protection zone would have to be expanded, Borden said. That could present problems for the airport, especially on the northeast end of the runway near Whispering Pines.
Instead, planes will have more room to take off and taxi after they land.
Borden said the additional area will let planes take off with more fuel, making it less likely that they'll need to land at another airport before reaching their destination.
Other improvements at the airport include the removal of trees southwest of the runway, making the approach from that direction safer for planes. Equipment that helps pilots land also is being upgraded.
"We've got a lot going on," Borden said.
The airport also has expanded the area where planes are parked. The airport can now park 68 planes, 22 more than it could before the upgrade.
"It's certainly going to help during the U.S. Open," Borden said. "We expect the ramp to literally fill up. It's a big logistical challenge."
The improvements also will make it easier to park large planes. Borden said Donald Trump's 757 landed at the airport for the U.S. Open in 2005.
Most of the planes that land at Moore County Airport during the tournaments in 2014 will be corporate jets, Borden said.
"The captains of industry will be coming through," he said. "They'll be bringing their aircraft."
Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3572.
Copyright 2012 - The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
