To the Editor:
A new billboard on the Airport Connector asks if you are going to heaven or to hell. It replaces a Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) billboard that announced new flights to Raleigh-Durham. Delta, the airline providing this service, is pulling those flights on September 1, 2011. That's why RIAC abandoned the billboard.
Those waiting for RIAC to buy their noise-rattled homes have had their own heaven-or-hell challenge going on for a long time. "When will the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) be finalized?" they ask. More importantly, will RIAC have the money to buy them out if the proposed runway extension goes forward?
But wait - there's more! The whole environmental study process has just imploded! Congressional funding for all FAA airport improvements around the country has been suspended. The FAA airport improvement employees working on our EIS have been furloughed, according to state officials here in Rhode Island. This means another delay in the final FAA Record of Decision (ROD) and more uncertainty for those 300 or so families living in the path of the proposed runway extension at Green.
CBS News reported on Tuesday night that "GOP senators confirmed their intention to continue to block legislation to restore FAA's operating authority unless Democrats give ground on Republican proposals to ... make it more difficult for airline workers to unionize." Many news sources are reporting that the outlook for a quick end to this mess is bleak.
In the meantime, The Beacon reported in "City wants more runway analysis" that RIAC is unlikely to proceed if federal funding is not available.
When Congress brings the FAA employees back to work on a permanent basis, the aircraft fleet mix rules will have changed. The "design aircraft" used to justify a longer runway at Green will have been outlawed. The now-stalled Congressional funding bill for airport improvements bans these bed-shaking Boeing 767s.
RIAC's grant funds' request to support these planes would be rejected for not meeting FAA rules.
Just that one point alone is ample justification for the City of Warwick to demand a new runway calculation. Mr. Dillon continued: "I don't know how much more analysis you could do ... It's time to bring it to a conclusion." Unfortunately for him, more analysis is indeed required because the FAA has run out of money and Congress is about to change the rules concerning the Boeing 767.
Money is really tight in Washington. Funding requests for boondoggle projects are being thrown out for lack of funds. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is fighting to fund "NextGen." NextGen replaces the World War II-era air traffic control system still in use in the United States. It replaces the old brute-force approach to air traffic control with technology.
NextGen's GPS approach could solve many regional air traffic capacity issues, and would totally obliterate RIAC's argument that the longer runway at Green would solve some capacity issues at Boston's Logan Airport. Controllers there could handle more planes per hour under NextGen.
NextGen could also solve a big problem that RIAC has at Block Island State Airport. Its runway approach lighting system is in shambles. The April 2011 environment assessment for that airport shows an electrical control box for this lighting system dangling from its mount, resting partially on the ground and patched up with duck tape.
RIAC's approach to fixing this problem is to yank up the navigational system and not replace it at all.
This scales back the availability of Block Island State Airport during inclement weather, basically forcing its closing when the weather gets too thick.
The other approach the one I advocate is for RIAC to jump on the NextGen bandwagon. Make full use of GPS systems, starting at Block Island State Airport. Let the world know that RIAC has selected NextGen to make Rhode Island's airports much safer.
The dream of every politician is to "create jobs." Rhode Island has a 200-year history of creating jobs through the development of science and technology.
Following this model, we can build a high-tech industry around NextGen, while using it to solve our airport problems.
We all hope that the FAA employees get their jobs back very soon. The bigger issue for us is how to recapture jobs here in Rhode Island. Our full buy-in to NextGen starts us down that road. As Mr. Dillon suggested, it is time to move on. Let's do it through NextGen to increase safety and capacity, while creating jobs in the process.
Richard Langseth
Warwick
Congress has failed to extend the FAA Airport Improvement Fund tax. The FAA furlough will now run through mid-September if not longer.
The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned for the Summer with no compromise in sight. With key FAA players out of jobs there is little hope for the issuance of the Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision (ROD) for many weeks. This failure to extend the tax will blow a big hole in the funds once thought available for runway improvements at T.F. Green Airport.
By the time the ROD comes out, Rhode Island Airport Corporation will have released its FY 2010 - 2011 operating results. We should all know if RIAC can afford to borrow money for the required environmental system ($25 million borrowing) the runway safety issues (at least $20 million) and have some loan capacity left over for the proposed runway extension (up to $80 million)
Richard; I have a simple question to ask because the RIAC won't give a straight answer. Since the new airport opened until 8-1-2011, what is the total amount of debt that RIAC owes, including any and all bonds? How much are they/we on the hook for? How much has been paid for or transfered to other agencies or been paid by appropriations from the GA? Maybe you can find out!
To Bendover: See http://cats.airports.faa.gov/Reports/reports.cfm and step you way to T.F. Green Airport. This report shows debt of $334 million as of June 30, 2010 with a debt service of $23 million. That does not include the $30 million taken by RIAC for the InterLinc from the general obligation bonds authorized by the voters for road and rail development.
The Glycol management facility will require $25 million of RIAC borrowing according to the governor's budget. With the Airport Improvement Fund going down by one billion $$$ because of the FAA shutdown, there will be little federal funding available for safety improvements. RIAC will need to borrow tens of millions for those safety improvements.
Ann Clark of RIAC asked the RIDOT if there were any extra funds hanging around the highway improvement accounts on June 23rd. Why did she ask that? This was just after RIDOT announced that it ran out of money for the Sakonnet River Bridge. Surely any extra funds would go to that necessary project or to the Pawtucket I95 bridge. Another big project is the upcoming fix to the Providence I95 viaduct.
So if RIAC is thinking that RIDOT will move Main Avenue for the proposed runway extension the RIAC board there is more naive than even I thought it was.
TY RICHARD! My God, so we are at $334M from 6/2010, looking at another $55M, we have had a steady decline in passenger traffic (revenue) going on 4 years, MBTA is providing service to the airport, (safe to say this isn't being done for the bubble) RIAC or RIDOT or RIEDC, someone will be cutting checks to make up the guarantee passenger counts...Why do I suspect that like the Convention Center Authority who will get a $23M subsidy from the GA over the life of the bonds, we are looking at the same thing here? WHAT A MESS!
To Bendover:
More and more folks are using the InterLinc to get to jobs in Boston. Count is over 100 per day now. Our city fathers need to promote this asset to help the unemployed realize that at least some of them could find work in Boston. But, you never hear a peep from the mayor's office or from RIAC to educate the people on just how valuable the InterLinc is.
Same dynamic going on at the airport. There are jobs at the other end of the "short" flights such as to D.C. But all we hear about is the Chamber of Commerce promoting non-stops to California. RIAC gets the same revenue for a passenger going to NYC or Philadelphia as for the West Coast. Basically the Rhode Island business community is still wearing straw hats and seersucker suits rather than dot com shirts and slacks! They just don't get who takes the trains and planes to get to work.
WARWICK, RI -- Fitch Ratings affirmed the Rhode Island Airport Corporation's medium grade investment status this week, but changed its outlook to negative based on a "fiercely competitive" regional air travel market and steadily declining passenger numbers. Projo 8/19/2011
Great...Another $167M on top of $334M outstanding with a negative rating? Are you people at RIAC crazy?
RI TAXPAYERS WILL END UP BAILING OUT RIAC. THEN THEY WILL REALIZE HOW THE GO GREEN ALLIANCE MISLEAD THE ENTIRE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND. DOES ANYONE COMPREHEND MATH, AND DO THE NUMBERS THAT SHOW THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS 1) WILL NOT LEAD TO ANY NEW SERVICE CITIES BEING ADDED TO TF GREEN 2) RIAC HAS LIED THAT AN 8,700' RUNWAY IS NEEDED TO FLY TO THE WEST COAST, IN FACT IT IS NOT NEEDED AND THAT'S CONFIRMED W/ BOEING AND 3) HOW THE ADDED COST WILL MAKE TF GREEN A NON-COMPETITIVE AIRPORT DUE TO ITS HIGH OPERATING COST PER PASSENGER AND BEING OVERBURDENED WITH CAPITAL COSTS IT CAN'T AFFORD, AND THAT WILL BE PASSED ON TO TAXPAYERS.
AREN'T RI TAXPAYERS FED UP ENOUGH WITH BAILING OUT SO MANY FAILED AGENCIES IN THE PAST? RIAC IS THE NEXT ONE WAITING TO HAPPEN.