TAXIWAY EXTENSION APPROVED
The Federal
Aviation Administration has approved grant application for extension of the
south taxiway at the Everglades City airport.
Photo by John Apte
Presently,
the taxiway does not extend to the end of the runway and this requires aircraft
departing to the north to back taxi on the active runway for full length
departure. Initially, the taxiway
extension was divided into two phases of the north end and south end. There were some wetlands issues to be
resolved on the south end and that portion of the project was combined with
wetlands mitigation requirements at the Marco Island airport. Both were resolved last year with approval
and acceptance of the Rookery Bay application.
The Marco Island taxiway has been completed this year and it is
anticipated that construction at Everglades will begin in the early part of
2013.
Bids for
construction will be posted and upon determination of the most qualified and
cost effective, a pre-construction conference and management program will be
scheduled with the FAA.
Completion of
the taxiway extension will greatly enhance safety and provide more efficient
operations, especially during those very busy times of the year.
