Airport Plans Put On Hold

The Erie International Airport may have to wait a little longer for the completion of its runway extension project. Escalating costs of the 67 million dollar project have left airport officials with two choices. They either must come up with 11 million dollars in new funding or they have to complete the project in phases. If officials break the project into phases, they would first add 920 feet to meet the minimum safety requirements. They would then add on another 1,000 feet to allow for larger planes to land in Erie. Airport Authority Officials will be looking to cut down costs by putting the plan to resurface the existing runway on the back burner. That idea may trim 7 million dollars off the estimate. Next week, the Airport Authority will visit Harrisburg to try and nail down exactly how much money the FAA will be able to fund. Once they narrow down a specific amount, they will have a better idea of whether or not they will be able to complete this project in one or two phases.