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| August 31, 2006 | Business First
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Airport gets green light for taxiway, grant for emergency operations center
By Brent Adams
The Federal Aviation Administration has given the Louisville Regional Airport Authority approval to begin construction of a planned taxiway near the United Parcel Service Inc. Worldport hub at Louisville International Airport.
The announcement was made this morning by U.S. Rep. Anne Northup, R-Louisville, and John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation.
The taxiway will be on the west side of the airport, parallel to the west runway. The taxiway is necessary to accommodate the large Airbus A380 aircraft, which UPS plans to begin flying into the hub by the end of the decade. The A380 has a wingspan of nearly 262 feet, a height of 80 feet and a length of 239 feet.
Bids have been accepted, and a contract might be awarded at the September airport authority board meeting, said Skip Miller, executive director of the airport authority.
According to the authority's description of the project, the first phase will consist of about 3,600 feet of asphalt roadway, installation of 1,200 feet of storm drain lines, a culvert and fencing adjacent to the new roadway.
"It is important that this project stays on track," Northup said.
Emergency operations center planned
Northup also announced that the federal government has given the airport authority a $4.6 million grant to build an emergency operations center at Louisville International's fire and rescue station. The grant will cover the cost of the $2.5 million center, communications wares, and new airfield equipment, such as snowplows.
"Rep. Northup and I have two important responsibilities: To ensure the safety and the security of the traveling public," said Mica, whose committee oversees the National Transportation Safety Board and the safety and security of 441 commercial airports across the United States.
Mica added that the need for heightened security communications was brought to the forefront last month when British officials foiled a terrorist plot to bring down at least 10 U.S.-bound flights.
Safety, he said, also is a paramount issue, as illustrated by the Lexington Comair crash that killed 49 people.
"You need a good emergency operations center," Mica said. "And from what I've seen, this is going to be state of the art."
Work on center could begin in fall
The center, which could be under construction by late fall, will be used as a day-to-day safety communications center, Miller said. The center also will serve as an emergency communications command post.
In the event of an incident at the airport, emergency communications operations now are spread between the terminal and the fire and rescue station, Miller said. Both locations also communicate with MetroSafe, the city's emergency communications dispatch located downtown.
"There is now a disconnect," Miller said. "This will get everybody in the same place."
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