The Peachtree City Airport Authority is moving ahead with a project that will improve airplane safety on takeoffs and landings.
The authority Thursday night approved a project bid that will add 450 feet to the north end of the runway, which will give planes more room at takeoff and landing, according to Aviation Director John Crosby.
The additional room is not enough to allow larger aircraft to land, Crosby said. But it will provide extra room for certain corporate jets which are not currently allowed to land for insurance reasons.
The extra space at the end of the runway was made possible by a project to purchase land several years ago when local officials began moving forward with the extension of TDK Boulevard which would have linked up with McIntosh Road in Coweta County.
To accommodate the airport’s need for more land, two golf holes at Planterra Ridge Golf Course had to be relocated. Shortly afterwards, the TDK extension was scrapped after it was revealed that a subdivision of more than 3,000 homes had been approved in unincorporated county, bringing a potential flood of traffic to Ga. Highway 74 through Peachtree City via the TDK extension.
The plans for McIntosh Village also called for 600,000 square feet of retail and office space. But without the road extension and with the sluggish economy, the project never came to fruition.
The Peachtree City side of the road, though it remains unpaved, is still key to another major project in Peachtree City: the long awaited Lake McIntosh water reservoir, which is currently under construction.
The airport runway extension project also calls for the grading and asphalt paving of the airport’s new hangar area C, Crosby said. That project, once complete, will provide space for as many as 30 new hangars.
Revenue from hangar leases is one of the major funding sources for the airport. Currently the airport has no available hangar space for lease.
Hangar area C is located on the opposite side of the runway from the existing airport terminal.
The $1.8 million project can proceed once the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration sign off on the expenditure, which is a formality at this point, Crosby said.
