Agencies try to clear hurdles to extending runway at Pullman airport

May 18--PULLMAN -- Highway right of way isn't likely to derail plans to lengthen and realign the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport runway, but there's still some uncertainty about how to pay for it.

Local, state and federal officials met to discuss the right of way issue Thursday.

Further study will be needed to uncover any potential problems, but at least initially the Washington Department of Transportation indicated it was willing to give up some existing right of way along the proposed north-side bypass, in exchange for right of way along an adjacent, less-problematic route.

Had the agency resisted that option, it could have blocked the entire realignment before it got started.

"The right of way could have been a project-stopper," Pullman City Manager John Sherman said.

The airport currently operates with an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration that allows it to accept larger commercial planes than it was designed to handle. To maintain commercial operations in the future, though, the runway realignment and extension has to move forward.

Under the proposed realignment, the protection zone at the western end of the runway would shift several hundred feet to the southwest -- putting it squarely in the path of the north-side bypass, which would connect U.S. 195 with the Moscow-Pullman Highway -- Washington State Route 270.

The FAA doesn't want a new highway built in the protection zone. However, it might be open to widening and improving Pullman Airport Road, which already exists and which would cut through a corner of the new protection zone.

That was the preferred solution discussed during Thursday's meeting: Rather than extend the bypass all the way to the Moscow-Pullman Highway, it would terminate just north of the airport property and traffic would then disperse onto Pullman Airport Road, which would be widened into a four- or five-lane boulevard to handle the additional traffic.

"We would want an ironclad guarantee (to that effect)," Sherman said. "We don't want to come back in the future and find out the road can't be widened."

Most of the property along that section of Airport Road is owned by Washington State University. The FAA would acquire the right of way needed to improve the roadway and swap it for a section of the north-side bypass right of way.

Neither the FAA or Department of Transportation is absolutely committed to this solution yet, but it provides some guidance to the airport as it prepares for a formal environmental analysis of the proposed runway realignment.

Airport Director Anthony Bean said the environmental analysis will likely kick off later this summer and take 12 to 18 months to complete. It will address everything from wetlands mitigation to archaeological investigations, land costs to earth-moving requirements.

"By the time it's done, we should have a good lock on costs," Bean said. "Right now the projected cost (of the extension and realignment) is $68 million."

The FAA will cover 90 percent to 95 percent of that, he said, with the remainder to come from local sources.

If the local match jumps from 5 percent to 10 percent, that's potentially a deal-killer, Bean said.

"For decades the match was 5 percent, but it changed to 10 percent in February with the last (FAA budget) reauthorization," he said. "We're on phase 3 of this project, so it changed the rules in the middle of the game."

Local officials are working with the Idaho and Washington congressional delegations to get the match reduced back to 5 percent, Bean said. The airport also has $1.5 million set aside from passenger facility charges.

A $4.50 facility charge is added to the price of every commercial airline ticket, he said. Major airports have asked Congress to raise that to $7, saying they could then be self-sufficient and not need any additional federal support. If that happens, it would boost the amount of revenue the Pullman airport could contribute towards the runway realignment costs.

The next step is for the airport to complete the proposed "scope of work" for the environmental analysis, detailing exactly what issues will be looked at. Once all the players sign off on that, the airport will award a contract to conduct the analysis.

Spence may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.

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