Gary/Chicago International Airport

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Airport work is starting to take off now

By Chris Curry, Airport Director
The NWI Times

In 2001, a master plan was formulated and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for Gary/Chicago International Airport. An airport master plan provides a road map over a span of 20 years for efficiently meeting aviation demand through the foreseeable future while preserving the flexibility necessary to respond to changing industry conditions. The airport has followed that path of development for the last nine years.

Several unexpected changes have occurred in the aviation industry; therefore, it is now time to review the master plan.

In 2009, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and the airport authority assembled a working group to hire a consultant to develop a business and strategic plan. By way of a thorough bid and screening process, Landrum and Brown were hired to develop a business and strategic plan.

L&B is an internationally recognized company dedicated solely to aviation that specializes in airport planning solutions. The direction given to L&B was to start from the ground level and use their expertise in aviation planning to determine aviation opportunities that the airport could provide to produce jobs and provide better service to support the region. These areas included cargo and passenger service, cooperate and general aviation, flight schools and maintenance/repair facilities. We look forward to their recommendations and expect a new plan to be commissioned in the near future.

As we look back at 2009, the airport accomplished several major projects. Some of these projects included;

* Burying high voltage power lines and relocating a NIPSCO substation.

* Railroad alignment agreement with the Canadian National railroad.

* Completion of the Army National Guard facility.

The airport also achieved the highest awards of fiscal responsibility, overall upkeep and maintenance of the airport. These awards were reflected by zero discrepancies with both the state audit for 2007 and 2008 and the recent FAA airport inspection in 2009. I attribute that success to the hard work of airport employees as well the airport authority allowing management to hire professional personnel.

The airport authority and staff have regional representation depicted by employees who reside in both Lake and Porter counties. 2010 has started with excitement and the hope of further opportunities that will propel the development of the airport.

We were very excited to host the meeting with Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo and display our beautiful facility with those who attended the meeting from both Indiana and Illinois. The idea of a high-speed rail connection from Chicago to Gary and the addition of a spur with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's South Shore service to directly serve the airport have the ability to make the airport a primary intermodal hub for transportation.

In partnership with the RDA, we are also on schedule this year to physically start the relocation of the railroad tracks that prevent the expansion of the runway. I hope the airport will serve as a model for what Northwest Indiana can achieve when we use our diversity to work together.

Chris Curry is Airport Director at the Gary/Chicago International Airport. The opinion expressed in this column is the writer's and not necessarily that of The Times.

This article ran on nwitimes.com on March 7, 2010.

Story posted: Sunday, March 07, 2010

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