Unalaska, AK – Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration and contractors CH2MHill addressed Unalaskans yesterday about improving safety at the Tom Madsen Airport and extending the runway.

"This has been a process at least since 2001, where [the Department of Transportation] and FAA started doing an environmental impact statement," says City Manager Chris Hladick. "And now they've gone with an environment assessment because they felt the impacts were pretty small for adding onto either end of the runway. I think it's about 550 feet of extra runway that we'll end up with."

Extending the runway would make the airport safer for larger planes, giving them more leeway if they overshoot or undershoot their landing. The comments offered during the public hearing supported this extension.

Hladick says the project might also make the airport more attractive to Q400 planes, which are capable of carrying up to 80 passengers. He adds that the project would also be good for local drivers.

"It's going to improve the airspace at the end of the runway where everybody drives across," says Hladick. "There should be a reduced possibility of having an aircraft-vehicle interface or crashes."

Right now, both federal and state funding exists for the project. In the current Alaska capital budget, over $25 million has been allocated for runway extension and repaving in Unalaska. Bidding could begin on the project as early as the summer of 2012. Building could begin on the project shortly thereafter, and construction is expected to take two years.