WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - The Waterloo City Council has voted to close the shortest of the local airport’s three runways - a proposal that had drawn opposition from some pilots.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported that the council voted unanimously Monday to authorize airport director Keith Kaspari to begin working with federal authorities on decommissioning the runway.
Kaspari had recommended closing the runway because of safety and liability concerns. Cost estimates ran from $300,000 for a resurfacing to $1.9 million to rehabilitate the runway in a shorter and narrower format.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said it wouldn’t provide any money for runway 6-24 because the airport’s other two runways can handle nearly all of the traffic.
Several pilots told the council at an earlier meeting that the runway is important for companies that use smaller aircraft to shuttle workers to other locations. The runway also is a safe alternative when high winds and other issues make it harder to access the two primary runways, the pilots said.
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