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city government news & events about apple valley employment resources |
Departments > Transportation and Transit > MSP Airport > Runway History | ||||
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MSP Runway 17/35 (North-South) Runway Brief History In 1989, the State Legislature approved a "dual track" planning process for the airport, which evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of a new airport versus expansion of the existing airport. Specifically, the process considered three options 1) make no significant changes to the existing airport 2) improve the airport at its current location, or 3) construct a new and larger airport at a new location. The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) and the Metropolitan Council were charged to complete this plan. Airport activity forecasts for a 30-year period (until 2020) were developed and showed that the existing airport could not meet the needs of the rapidly growing Metro area. By early 1995, the MAC determined that given the location of the existing parallel runways and other limitations posed by the Fort Snelling cemetery and the National Guard air field, a north-south runway would be a necessary part of an expansion of the existing airport. The potential new airport site was also narrowed to a location in Vermillion in Dakota County, not far from Apple Valley's eastern border. After deliberation, the MAC recommended the expansion of the existing airport over the relocation to a new site in Dakota County. In 1996, the State Legislature ended the dual track process and as a result, approved the expansion of MSP International Airport. A major component of the approved expansion is the construction of a new north-south runway. Construction on the runway began in 1998. This runway has an impact on communities to the south over which there are flight paths and the air traffic flows. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assigns planes to headings that match their destinations shortly after take-off. While the destination heading is a primary factor in determining the flight path, there is a small degree of flexibility in the paths. In 2000, the City of Apple Valley advocated before the MAC Runway 17 City Group for a fair and equitable distribution of the flights using the new runway. An alternative proposal was to concentrate departures over a smaller area, creating greater noise impacts for some, while reducing noise impacts for others. Apple Valley advocated for a more even distribution so that the burden of noise impacts would be shared throughout the region south of the airport such that Apple Valley would bear only its reasonable fair share of the noise impacts. The MAC adopted a plan with a wider fan of departure routes. The MAC also adopted a procedure to route night-time flights over either the Minnesota River or industrial areas in Mendota Heights and Eagan when possible to minimize air traffic over residential areas. Construction of the new runway was completed and the runway opened in October of 2005. MSP Airport Web Site on Airport Expansion >>> MSP Airport Web Site on Airfield Improvements >>> Content updated on: 21-Jun-2006
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