Supervisors Approve Mather Runway Extension

February 18, 2004

Supervisors Approve Mather Runway Extension
Sacramento Business Journal, CA

The secondary runway at Mather Airport will be
extended to 7,200 feet, long enough to make it a
backup for air cargo carriers, but not as long as
airport staff had wanted as a lure for more commercial
business. 
  
The runway extension was approved Tuesday by the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. 

Airport staff said that 7,200 feet is the minimum
length needed to make the 6,000-foot runway a backup
for times when the main runway is closed. Cargo
carriers now are diverted to Sacramento International
Airport when this happens, causing delays for a
business that lives or dies by meeting shipping
deadlines. 

The Sacramento County Department of Airports had
proposed a two-phase lengthening for the runway: first
to 7,200 feet, at a cost of $14.7 million, and then to
8,500 feet at an additional cost of $19.5 million. 

Airports Department deputy director Rob Leonard told
the Business Journal last week that the extra length
could give the airport an edge in attracting a big air
carrier. 

United Parcel Service is the only big-name carrier at
Mather now, and having an adequate backup runway is
seen as essential to getting other air cargo carriers
to base operations there. 

A UPS spokesman told the Business Journal last week
that the company would prefer the 8,500 foot
extension, but that 7,200 feet would be adequate. 

The runway extension approved by Supervisors becomes
part of Mather's master plan. The next step is an
environmental impact review, expected to take a year. 



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