Mineta Outlines Plans to Add Capacity, Calls Communities to
Action
Transportation Secretary Norman
Mineta Thursday released a new study predicting which airports and
communities will need to expand their capacity by the year 2020.
Speaking at a news conference in Atlanta, Mineta said airports in
growing cities like Las Vegas, Tucson, Albuquerque, Birmingham and
Palm Beach will need to expand their ability to handle more air
passengers over the next 16 years. He also listed dozens of
projects underway to meet that growing demand for air travel, and
urged more communities to get involved now in the push to add
capacity.
The capacity report is the first of its kind to look at current
air travel patterns, economic and population trends, current air
service and current capacity. According to the study, 23 of the
nation’s fastest growing airports will need to add capacity
in order to accommodate air traffic growth over the next two
decades.
"Investing in airports today means jobs and economic prosperity
for tomorrow," Secretary Mineta said. "Let this report be a wake-up
call to cities across America whose economies are taking off."
Many of the airports -– like Las Vegas, Nevada; West Palm
Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Tucson, Arizona, and
Albuquerque, New Mexico -– are in the fast growing southern
and southwestern United States. More established cities, like New
York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and Providence, also are
expected to face a capacity crunch.
Mineta outlined many projects underway by the Department of
Transportation to add capacity. Over the next five years, seven new
runway projects will be commissioned with another 13 runway
projects and two new commercial service airports in the planning
stage, he said. The Department will build seven new air traffic
control towers and will also install new, more efficient, air
traffic control equipment in 31 cities, Mineta added.
Secretary Mineta praised cities like Atlanta, Cincinnati and
Minneapolis for making early progress in adding capacity. However,
he urged more communities to partner with the federal government
and start adding capacity now.
Mineta stressed that communities would not have to go it alone
as he announced two new grants for the Atlanta airport totaling $43
million. The grants will help pay the cost of a new fifth runway
and additional noise reduction measures designed to lessen the
impact of the new airstrip on nearby communities.