Safer Runway Planned at St. Simons Airport

Feb. 3—A Safety Materials Arresting System is coming to the St. Simons Airport as a way to make it safer for aircraft and their passengers during landing.

The system, which was discussed at Tuesday's Golden Isles Development Authority meeting, will be built at the end of the longest runway at the airport. It is a passive safety system designed to quickly and safely de-accelerate an aircraft that has overshot a runway, similar to the way a runaway truck ramp works on mountain highways.

Glynn County Airport Commission Executive Director Rob Burr also said security upgrades at the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport will be funded 100 percent by the federal government, along with additional parking. A calibration pad and access taxi line for the maintenance and repair of aircraft is also planned at the Brunswick airport.

In other busines, Ryan Moore, president and CEO of the development authority, said the engineering and design of a proposed spec building at North Glynn Commerce Park was approved after closed executive session. There are no plans to build the proposed 30,000-square-foot spec building, but having the plans ready could enable construction to be completed within nine months, Moore said.

"We're doing this in response to the demand," Moore said. "The size has come up a couple of times."

If a spec building is built, it will be designed so it could be subdivided, or it could be expanded to triple in size, Moore said.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, the annual trip to Atlanta by business leaders has been pared down. Officials from the development authority and the Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce will be in Atlanta on Feb. 10 where they will meet with state lawmakers to explain their concerns and needs.

The chamber and authority will meet 9 a.m. on March 2 at the Brunswick Public Library for a presentation of the Workforce Strategy Initiative, followed by a scheduled authority meeting at 10 a.m. at the library.

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