Bentonville airport plan update still in progress

BENTONVILLE -- A runway extension could be recommended in the municipal airport master plan update, but space might be an issue.

Pam Keidel-Adams with Kimley-Horn and Associates presented options to about two dozen attendees at a public session Tuesday at the airport.

Bentonville’s Airport Plan Update

The airport’s last master plan was updated in 2003. The update will cost about $162,000 and is being paid for by a $150,000 FAA grant. The remainder will be reimbursed through a state grant once the update is done.

Source: Staff report

Morrison Shipley Engineers and Kimley-Horn and Associates are developing the plan update.

The runway is 4,426 feet long. The 589-foot extension would make the length 5,015 feet, according to presentation documents.

The extension would accommodate critical aircraft, which is identified by based aircraft and operation forecasts, according to Keidel-Adams.

The Federal Aviation Administration defines critical aircraft as "the most demanding aircraft that conducts at least 250 landings and takeoffs for 500 total operations per year," she said.

Keidel-Adams walked through what it would look like if the runway was extended to the south or the north. Both have obstacles.

"If we do anything to this runway, they're (FAA) going to want you to control the (runway protection zone)," she said.

The runway protection zone is "an area off the runway end to enhance the protection of people and property on the ground," according to Aviation Glossary.

If extended to the south, the zone would overlap Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard, and the city would need to acquire 41 acres of land.

If it were extended to the north, land acquisition would be 30 acres. However, it would have to cross Lake Bentonville, according to presentation documents.

"Those are the options we're looking at," Keidel-Adams said. "It's an issue of what are the pros and cons of each."

The Fish and Wildlife Service would like the lake to remain within a mile of its current location, while the FAA would like it to be moved more than a mile, she added. The north extension couldn't be constructed without an environmental analysis.

There was concern from the audience the extension may not provide the return on investment. There was also concern about private property becoming unusable.

"Whether it gets included in the recommendations, that's why we have these meetings to get input to find out what the community thinks," Keidel-Adams said.

Beth Keck, airport board member, said she believed the implication was by keeping the extension in the plan it remains an option.

The airspace is reserved in the future once it's on the plan, Keidel-Adams added.

"If it's not on there, then you can't do it," she said.

The process to update the plan began in October. Tuesday's public meeting was the second one held to gather feedback.

Airport inventory has been taken, and forecasts for aircraft and operations have been developed since the process' inception.

The airport had 63 based aircraft in 2014 and is projected to have 111 by 2035, according to presentation documents. Operations are projected to increase from the 28,600 takeoffs and landings estimated for 2015 to 43,400 in 2035.

Creation of the airport layout plans are scheduled to begin in May or June. The update is expected to be completed in September.

NW News on 02/05/2015

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