SCTAC taxiway plan moves forward

By Cindy Landrum  

MAY 14, 2010 7:15 a.m. (0)

Money earmarked in the 2010 federal budget for taxiway expansion at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center is only enough to pay for grading and site work.

But SCTAC’s president Jody Bryson said that could be enough to prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to find the rest of the money to pay for the project.

“The FAA doesn’t like to see projects unfinished,” he said. “We’re hoping that will be in our favor.”

SCTAC, formerly known as the Donaldson Center Industrial Air Park, has been trying to get the FAA to pay to extend the taxiway that runs parallel to the airport’s active runway for 10 years.

The center has never scored high enough to secure FAA funding because the agency considers an airport’s takeoffs and landings, not its economic impact.

Bryson said the center has 50,000 landings and takeoffs annually, second highest among South Carolina’s general aviation airports behind the Greenville Downtown Airport. But SCTAC’s economic impact is far greater than the downtown airport, he said.

Bryson estimates it would cost $2 million more to finish the project.

The Donaldson runway is 8,000 feet long.

The parallel taxiway runs just three-quarters of its length, forcing planes to use the active runway to get in position to take off, Bryson said.

The project would extend the taxiway the rest of the way, something officials said will improve safety and efficiency.

The extension is so expensive because the taxiway is built to military standards and is wider than typical taxiways.

“That’s a feature that allowed us to attract Lockheed-Martin and its 1,200 jobs,” Bryson said.

SCTAC serves a variety of aircraft, from single engine planes to big C130 and P3 military planes. President Barack Obama’s 737 landed at the airport during his run for the White House, Bryson said.

The taxiway expansion would allow SCTAC to better serve the four aviation companies housed there – Lockheed-Martin, Stevens Aviation, Donaldson Jet Center and AvServe – as well as attract other aviation companies, he said.

Bids have been taken and a contract for the grading work should be awarded by the end of the month. Work should start around July.