BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
Gary/Chicago International Airport and its backers are looking to what's next after reaching a key agreement on moving railroad tracks to make way for expansion.
A long to-do list that includes environmental cleanup and wetlands mitigation faces the airport, as well as the need to find more funding for moving the tracks.
"We are excited about the agreement with the railroads," Airport Director Chris Curry said Friday. "However, you don't have much time to bask in the glory because there is always something next."
The cost to move railroad tracks could exceed $45 million, Curry said. But no firm estimate can be given until final engineering work is done in the next few weeks.
The airport already has secured $27 million in federal and other funds for the work and will be asking the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority for more, Curry said.
After the engineering work is done, the airport must arrange a final binding legal agreement with the railroads. The railroads will not sign unless funding for the move is in place, Curry said.
The agreement reached Thursday was a preliminary memorandum of understanding that took two months of almost daily negotiation to reach, Curry said.
Those negotiations involved the EJ&E Railway, CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp., and Canadian National Railway.
The Northwest Indiana Forum assisted the airport in negotiations. U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., and U.S. Sens. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind., all pressured railroads to finalize an agreement.
Construction work on moving the tracks most likely will not begin until 2009, although some work could be done later this year, Curry said. It would take at least two construction seasons to finish that work and extend the runway.
The main tracks to be moved belong to the EJ&E. Its tracks sit on an embankment 130 feet from the end of the main runway. But to reroute those tracks, approvals also had to come from CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., whose tracks cross the EJ&E.
On Thursday, the RDA finalized plans to hire planning and engineering firm SEH Inc., of St. Paul, Minn., to do an assessment of airport plans, according to RDA Chairman Leigh Morris.
He said the firm's work will not delay airport expansion plans or efforts to land an airline.
"I think all along the RDA has been committed to investment in Gary/Chicago International," Morris said. "Our priority is that those investments are well thought out and are good business decisions."
The RDA already has approved $20 million in specially designated state funds for airport expansion. The money has been used to buy property, move an oil tank and bury high-voltage power lines.
A strategic plan prepared for the RDA two years ago pointed out airport expansion faces many challenges, including environmental issues that could delay expansion for years.
The airport cleared a major hurdle this spring when the U.S. Army Corps of engineers issued an environmental permit clearing the way for moving the railroad tracks, Curry said.
Cleanup of the Conservation Chemical site northwest of the airport, which the new runway taxiway will cross, is ongoing, Curry said. The airport must get a clean bill of health for the site from environmental regulators before construction can begin.
The airport also has submitted a letter to the RDA outlining a request for $6 million to fund an expansion of its main terminal to house a customs port, Curry said. The airport will put up $2.3 million more to build the facility.
It wants the customs port in place in order to attract foreign airlines. One, VivaAerobus, a Mexican discount carrier, has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation to fly daily between Gary and two Mexican cities.