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Expanded wetlands study needed for airport improvement project
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By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter
| 06/10/2009 |
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City officials decided to expand Madison's study of wetlands in and around the municipal airport, which is an effort required by the Federal Aviation Administration before the construction of a new airport taxiway can start. Chris Funk, manager at the Madison Municipal Airport, told city commissioners on Monday that the FAA wanted to collect more information about how new construction would affect water drainage at the airport. Funk asked the commissioners to approve a $161,800 contract with Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson Inc. of Bismarck, N.D., which hired the engineering firm to perform Phase II of an environmental assessment.
The city plans to construct a parallel taxiway on the west side of the concrete runway at the Madison airport. The new taxiway will run the entire length of the 5,000-foot runway, decrease traffic congestion and improve safety. Before starting construction, engineers were required to study how the new construction would affect wetlands that the concrete runway crosses.
Phase I of the engineering study reviewed the taxiway improvement project at the airport and how the city could minimize the project's effect on the environment. According to Funk, Phase I also outlined the affected wetlands and looked for any archaeological sites in the area.
In Phase II, engineers will create a drainage report and develop plans to reduce any possible changes to the environment. They will survey about 105 acres and study water drainage at nine wetlands locations.
"Phase II will look at wetlands inside and outside of the airport," Funk said. "The land inside the airport's boundaries is scattered with wetlands, and both airstrips -- the concrete and the turf runways -- cut across two major wetlands areas."
Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson engineers will design new manmade channels that will drain water in the airport area and determine how workers will realign the drainage channels in five different locations. The engineers will review the operation of two culverts running underneath the runway and decide whether they need replacement with larger culverts. They will also determine the adequacy of eight culverts that lie under roads near the airport.
The engineers will provide information on wildlife hazard mitigation at the airport, which includes removing about 129 acres of wetlands, eliminating some trees and shrubs, and installing drainage ditches at the airport.
The scope of the Phase II study increased its cost from the original estimate of $70,000 to $161,800. The study's estimated completion date is set for May 30, 2010.
The federal government currently provides 95 percent of the funding for airport improvements, including paying for environmental studies. The city will need to pay 3 percent of the cost for the Phase II study, and the state will pay the remaining 2 percent.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2010
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