New St. George airport gets federal green light

ST. GEORGE — Plans to build the St. George replacement airport a few miles north of town got the green light Tuesday from the nation's top transportation official.

The decision to put the city's $78 million airport on "fast track" status was announced by Woodie Woodward, associate administrator of airports for the Federal Aviation Administration, during a news conference held at the city's current airport location.

"This is great news for this community," said Woodward, who traveled to St. George from Washington D.C. to announce the decision made by Norman Mineta, U.S. Secretary of Transportation. "I am happy to announce that Secretary Mineta has placed the St. George replacement airport project on our priority project list."

Mineta is authorized through a U.S. presidential executive order to select projects for fast track status, which puts them under the direct supervision of senior federal officials.

"Something is broken when it takes an average of 13 years to complete a new road and 10 years to build a new airport runway," said Mineta in a press release. "The American people want us to ask tough questions and apply tough standards, but they also want us to find a way to fish or cut bait in a reasonable amount of time."

Of the 52 transportation projects submitted for fast track status this year, Mineta selected six for the high level attention. Two other airports, one in Philadelphia and one in Los Angeles, also made the list, Woodward said.

"These projects weren't chosen because they were easy. In fact, we looked for projects that had tough issues that the federal government needed to work through," she said. "The criteria (were) tough, and the St. George project made the cut for many good reasons."

SkyWest Airlines, which is headquartered in St. George, continues to board an increasing number of passengers through its St. George terminal. But the length of the city's single runway limits the size of aircraft that SkyWest can safely fly in and out of the airport. And that constraint alone, said St. George Airport Manager David Ulane, puts a serious roadblock in the city's economic future.

"Over 10 years ago, the city recognized that this airport would not meet its future needs," Ulane said. "It's beautiful and one of the most unique airports in the United States, but it lacks the attributes needed to serve a burgeoning community."