By Michelle L. Quinn, Post-Tribune correspondent
GARY -- A glitch in negotiations between the Gary/Chicago International Airport and three railroads regarding the airport expansion shouldn't cause any setbacks on its construction.
The Airport Authority at its Wednesday meeting discussed the issue concerning the expansion, which will move a large stretch of track on which EJ&E, Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Corp. use. The railroads, according to Airport Administrator Chris Curry, are at odds over which railroad will control the right-of-way once the track is relocated.
In its present form, the expansion calls for the EJ&E track to form a junction with the CSX track, Curry said. Currently, CSX doesn't use its line but does have a hold on it for possible future needs.
EJ&E, however, doesn't want CSX to control the junction.
Authority member Ross Amundson said that whether the airport goes ahead with the expansion using the original plan or modifies it to address the railroads' concerns, the Authority isn't going to allow the railroads to stall work needlessly.
"If it was up to me, I'd be out there running the bulldozer myself," said Authority President Marion Johnson Jr. "This is something all of us have dreamed about, so I want it done as quickly as possible."
A second expansion-related relocation will be less problematic but will cost $2,452,832, as the Authority approved a request to move a fuel tank owned by CITGO that's currently within the proposed runway's protection zone. Airport engineer Ken Ross said CITGO handled the bids for its relocation and has asked the Authority to put money in a draw account so that it could make payments progressively.
The tank's relocation will be paid from RDA funds, Ross said.
In other business, the airport received an unexpected windfall of $52,000, courtesy of Pan Am Airlines.
The airport in October received a default judgment in Lake Superior Court against Pan Am for landing fees it still owed after it left the city, Curry said. The judgment required the airline, whose hub is now located in Portsmouth, N.H., to make four payments of $13,000; the airport received the last payment March 2.
The payments eased any hard feelings the airport may have had for the airline.
"They were the first to recognize the potential Gary has," Amundson said.