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Authority OKs extension
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| A Southwest Airlines 737 taxis toward the takeoff runway on Tuesday. The airport is proposing extending a taxiway on the far side of the landing runway, along with several other improvements. (Roger Wilson / The Leader) |
Addition to taxiway would allow for safer ground movement of planes, decongest traffic above airport, officials say.
By Jeremy Oberstein
AIRPORT DISTRICT — The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority unanimously approved plans Tuesday for a $14.8-million extension of Taxiway D.
By extending the main artery of Bob Hope Airport, officials say they are addressing one of the airport’s main safety concerns.
“This project is very significant for us and very significant for the traveling public,” airport authority Executive Director Dios Marrero said.
The project will extend Taxiway D from the southern edge of Runway 15-33 — the main takeoff runway — to the Eastern end of Runway 8-26, the airport’s main landing path.
The project also includes the relocation of the airport service road, relocation of the guard kiosk, reconstruction of the asphalt pavement and an added tie-in to Taxiway D that will allow service planes, such as UPS aircraft, to turn out instead of wait behind commercial planes.
“The project is the most important safety project we have done at this airport,” said Dan Feger deputy executive director of the airport authority. “It will eliminate the need for planes. . . to back-taxi on Runway 8-26 in order to exit.”
Back-taxiing, according to airport officials, is the procedure by which planes maneuver to their ultimate destination after landing, often remaining on the original runway forcing planes in the air to wait until the process is complete.
“We don’t have that intense a schedule that this is a huge problem, but, ideally, you don’t want to have to this,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “This [extension] would allow planes to taxi and turn off in a normal fashion.”
In addition to expediency, safety was also a prevailing reason for the project, commissioners said.
“The realignment of Taxiway D provides a large paved area north of airport buildings where aircraft can rapidly leave on approach and gives them a target in cases of trouble to avoid turning into the terminal,” said Feger.
In addition to the realignment, officials are also considering extending the Engineered Material Arresting System that lies as a buffer between the runway and Hollywood Boulevard.
This would create a bigger target to catch and encourage aircraft in trouble to avoid heading for the terminal building, according to staff reports.
In 2000, a Southwest plane overran the runway while landing at Bob Hope Airport. It crashed through a metal blast wall, ultimately coming to a rest on Hollywood Boulevard. At the time, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Bob Benzon said, “The airport has grown too big for its footprint.”
But the project is not without its critics.
“There will be additional noise to the east of the airport,” said community activist Don Elsmore. “Plus, all those planes at night going west will be something our neighbors will not expect.”
Elsmore conceded, however, that this project is “One of the key elements to meet the current modern standards of safety.”
The project will be funded by a combination of grants and passenger facility charge revenues, Feger said.
“Just over 80% of this project will be financed through [Airport Improvement Program] grants, by the FAA, and about 20% from PFC funds,” Feger said.
Officials selected DMJM Harris from a sea of “very good bids,” Feger said.
“This is a very important project for us and puts us in a much better position relative to other airports,” Marrero said.
By extending the main artery of Bob Hope Airport, officials say they are addressing one of the airport’s main safety concerns.
“This project is very significant for us and very significant for the traveling public,” airport authority Executive Director Dios Marrero said.
The project will extend Taxiway D from the southern edge of Runway 15-33 — the main takeoff runway — to the Eastern end of Runway 8-26, the airport’s main landing path.
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“The project is the most important safety project we have done at this airport,” said Dan Feger deputy executive director of the airport authority. “It will eliminate the need for planes. . . to back-taxi on Runway 8-26 in order to exit.”
Back-taxiing, according to airport officials, is the procedure by which planes maneuver to their ultimate destination after landing, often remaining on the original runway forcing planes in the air to wait until the process is complete.
“We don’t have that intense a schedule that this is a huge problem, but, ideally, you don’t want to have to this,” airport spokesman Victor Gill said. “This [extension] would allow planes to taxi and turn off in a normal fashion.”
In addition to expediency, safety was also a prevailing reason for the project, commissioners said.
“The realignment of Taxiway D provides a large paved area north of airport buildings where aircraft can rapidly leave on approach and gives them a target in cases of trouble to avoid turning into the terminal,” said Feger.
In addition to the realignment, officials are also considering extending the Engineered Material Arresting System that lies as a buffer between the runway and Hollywood Boulevard.
This would create a bigger target to catch and encourage aircraft in trouble to avoid heading for the terminal building, according to staff reports.
In 2000, a Southwest plane overran the runway while landing at Bob Hope Airport. It crashed through a metal blast wall, ultimately coming to a rest on Hollywood Boulevard. At the time, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Bob Benzon said, “The airport has grown too big for its footprint.”
But the project is not without its critics.
“There will be additional noise to the east of the airport,” said community activist Don Elsmore. “Plus, all those planes at night going west will be something our neighbors will not expect.”
Elsmore conceded, however, that this project is “One of the key elements to meet the current modern standards of safety.”
The project will be funded by a combination of grants and passenger facility charge revenues, Feger said.
“Just over 80% of this project will be financed through [Airport Improvement Program] grants, by the FAA, and about 20% from PFC funds,” Feger said.
Officials selected DMJM Harris from a sea of “very good bids,” Feger said.
“This is a very important project for us and puts us in a much better position relative to other airports,” Marrero said.
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