ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 4, 1996 TAG: 9610040026
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
ANTICIPATING THE CITY'S GROWTH as an air-cargo stop, airport officials will start building a ramp next month that can handle five parked planes at a time.
Construction is to begin Nov. 1 on a new air-cargo ramp at Roanoke Regional Airport, part of a plan to expand facilities for growing air-freight traffic.
The ramp will replace the existing cargo loading area near the airport's former passenger terminal.
A $7.8 million contract with Branch Highways Inc. of Roanoke to build the ramp and an adjacent aircraft de-icing facility was approved in September by the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission.
The cargo ramp, which is essentially a large parking lot for cargo planes, plus the de-icing area will cover 6 acres northeast of the old terminal and south of the airport's main east-west runway. Part of the project will involve relocating a taxiway next to the runway to bring it into compliance with a Federal Aviation Administration requirement of a 400-foot separation between runways and taxiways.
The new ramp is needed because of the limited space available at the current cargo area and to meet FAA requirements, airport spokesman Mark Courtney said. The ramp will be able to handle five parked cargo aircraft at a time.
Cargo handled at the airport grew from 22.9 million pounds in 1991 to 33.6 million pounds in 1995, according to the airport commission. However, cargo totals, which include mail and freight, are down slightly this year.
The recent drop was because of a decision by United Parcel Service to ship some freight out of Roanoke by truck rather than by plane, Courtney said. The airport, he said, expects freight volume to grow but at a slower rate than it has recently.
The cargo-ramp project, designed by Delta Airport Consultants of Richmond, is needed to satisfy existing demand by air-cargo carriers, Courtney said. With the current growth rate of the cargo business at the airport, the new ramp should be in full use by the time it opens in the summer of 1998, he said.
"The ramp is going to be one heck of a major benefit for us," said Bill Carroll, a spokesman for FedEx, formerly Federal Express, a major air-cargo carrier serving the airport.
The addition will greatly increase the efficiency of Fed Ex's operation in Roanoke and will provide the company the opportunity to build a facility at the airport to handle cargo, he said.
Courtney said the airport hopes for additional funding that would allow the construction of four acres of roads and paved parking to accommodate trucks that carry air cargo. If that funding comes through, the total cost of the project would be $8.5 million, Courtney said.
The construction contract is being financed with $4.2 million in federal funds, $1.9 million in state money and $2.6 million in local funds. The local money comes from airport rentals and fees, and no local tax money is being used on the project, Courtney said.
The airport also has received $699,600 to upgrade its computerized security system, Courtney said. The system controls all of the airport's gates and doorways.
Also, he said, the FAA has proposed to build a new control tower at the airport. The last federal budget included $350,000 for site selection and engineering work on the tower project.
The agency is looking at three sites for the new tower, which could be up to 18 stories high. One is near Peters Creek Road and the other two are in the vicinity of the old passenger terminal.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Map by staff. color.by CNB