CAA: GA News, "Airports in Barrow County and Jackson County, Ga., Undergo Expansion"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, October 24, 2002

Airports in Barrow County and Jackson County, Ga., Undergo Expansion
The Athens Banner-Herald, Ga.


Spurred by regional growth and banking on more economic development, two
northeast Georgia airports are in the process of expansion -- with an
eye toward more corporate traffic. 

Jackson County is betting on predicted growth along Interstate 85 during
the upcoming years to help make the Jackson County Airport a regional
point of business travel. 

Meanwhile, Barrow County is building new hangars to accommodate a
greater demand for space at the Winder-Barrow Airport, where a military
presence from the Georgia National Guard also continues to expand. 

Barrow County officials are working with Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., and
Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., to get federal funding for expansion, including
an advanced Instrument Landing System, airport director Tim Whitman
said. 

"We don't have bottom-line numbers on it," Whitman said. "It will
probably be around $3.5 million to $4 million because there will be some
land acquisition involved."

With 70 people on a waiting list for hangars, the airport also is in the
process of building 20 new hangars to add to the 50 already in place.
Other plans at the airport, which focuses on corporate and business
traffic, include a new lighting system, Whitman said. 

The National Guard, which fields about 100 troops at the Winder-Barrow
Airport on training weekends, also plans to upgrade its fleet, bringing
in UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopters to replace the current Vietnam-era
UH-1 "Hueys,"said Lt. Col. Ken Baldowski, a Guard spokesman. 

In Jackson County, where the airport has mainly served private traffic,
officials are finishing up the first steps of an expansion project they
hope will set the facility up for a greater number of corporate flights.


"We want it to be a strong revenue generator and bring in business to
support the county tax base," said Andy Newton, assistant county
manager, who also oversees the airport. 

Jackson officials hope to finish land acquisition by the end of the year
so a runway project can begin. The plan to lengthen the main runway from
4,200 to 5,000 feet will allow the airport to serve larger aircraft and
is funded mainly through Federal Aviation Administration money collected
through fuel taxes. 

Overall, the price tag on expansions -- including additional hangar
space -- has been estimated at more than $2 million. 

The airport already has installed additional tie-downs for planes that
are kept outside of hangars and is waiting for the final inspection on a
parking lot, Newton said. Officials are still in the planning stage for
new hangars. 

Business leaders try to be realistic about opportunities for growth.
Having an airport in Jackson County is an important variable but rarely
a deal-breaker for businesses who are considering the county in the
first place, said Pepe Cummings, president of the Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce. One of the biggest issues is that flyers still have
to go to Atlanta for commercial flights -- and that's not going to
change, he pointed out. 

"It's important to our economic development effort, but it's not
absolutely critical," he said. "... Are airports important? Absolutely.
Do you need to be smart about where you invest your dollars? Absolutely.


"The most important airport in our economic development is Hartsfield
(International Airport, in Atlanta)." Planned improvements could help
the Jackson County facility grow from a "Level 2" airport -- a local
airport focused on business -- to a "Level 3" airport with a regional
impact, Newton said. 

Jackson County has that potential because it has some advantages other,
larger airports in the region don't share. 

Metro Atlanta's Peachtree-DeKalb Airport, for instance, is hemmed in by
surrounding development and can't expand. And Athens-Ben Epps Airport
isn't located on a major road corridor. 

Jackson County Airport is less than five miles from the interstate,
putting it right in the heart of the economic development corridor,
Newton said. 

"Airports in the metro area are saturated," Jackson County Manager Al
Crace said. "And there's good markets coming toward us."


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