Albany County Airport Authority officials have moved forward on several rehabilitation and improvement efforts made possible by more than $9 million in federal and state funds.
The to-do list includes adding new touchdown lights to the Runway One approach, removing runway approach obstructions, including the relocation of a Buhrmaster Road home, acquiring land to expand airport noise overlays and adding new escalators in the terminal’s security checkpoint.
Authority board members were presented with the design of the new escalators at their Monday, Aug. 6, meeting. The project is expected to cost more than $2 million. The money, which comes from the Federal Aviation Administration, will pay for the design and construction of two new escalators, bringing the total to four escalators serving the security checkpoint mezzanine and baggage claim and ticketing below.
The project will also include new electrical work and floors.
It’s probably the most complicated project we’ve done, said John O’Donnell, Authority chief executive officer. ‘The new project should hold up longer and have an improved maintenance life.`
The new escalators follow recent improvements and expansion of terminal security checkpoints. Due to the high volume of passenger traffic, and moisture issues, the terrazzo floors have warped. The old floor and escalators lasted roughly 10 years, said O’Donnell. Airport officials hope to get 20 years out of the new flooring, wall treatments and escalators.
However, the high traffic flow also poses a problem during construction. The escalators serve as the sole access points to security, ticketing and baggage claim areas.
Work will be done in phases and during off hours at the airport, said O’Donnell.
News of the newest airport improvements at the meeting was overshadowed by a quarterly airport financial performance report by Authority chief financial officer J. Dwight Hadley that showed total revenues were down.
Although the six-month report is without July and August figures, the international airport’s two busiest months, the numbers show a decrease compared to last year’s figures.
The Authority did report revenues in excess of $60,000 from terminal retail and food sales, but revenue from airport operations and parking and car rentals declined.
In all, the report showed a $300,000 gap between airport revenues and expenses.
Described by O’Donnell as a `lot of negatives,` the report sparked a brief debate by Authority board members and officials about actively recruiting new, competitive airlines.
`We need to keep recruiting as much as we can. If you look at all the major airlines, outside Southwest and Jet Blue, hardly any have aircraft on order,` said Hadley. Southwest is currently Albany International’s best performing airline. Jet Blue does not fly out of Albany.
The Authority also voted to accept the final environmental impact statement for the removal and relocation of the Latham Water District’s two elevated towers at Utica Avenue. The airport will replace the towers with a new elevated tank, not to exceed adjacent tree height, at an 11-acre site in Loudonville, adjacent to the city of Albany’s Loudonville reservoir. The replacement will include the new tank and the installation of 24-inch and 36-inch water mains.
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