St. George replacement airport gets green light

ST. GEORGE — The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday issued a final Record of Decision that paves the way for construction to begin on a long awaited replacement airport for St. George.

"This will be the highest cost, public improvement project that St. George has ever undertaken," said St. George Mayor Dan McArthur during a news conference held in the City Council chambers. "When we first started this, we figured it (the replacement airport) would cost about $100 million. The cost estimate now will probably be at least 50 percent higher."

An environmental impact statement, completed earlier this year, added $4.5 million to the project's overall cost, said Mike La Pier, city airport manager. The EIS, which was court ordered following a lawsuit filed by the Grand Canyon Trust, included a comprehensive noise analysis from all sources — data that was missing from the first environmental assessment, he noted.

"There has been more study done on this airport than the Chicago O'Hare modernization plan," said LaPier. "This report is exhaustive and the reality is that it addresses all the questions and concerns that were raised."

City officials said they should have a new cost analysis and financial plan for the replacement airport completed by the end of the week. After that, a design team will be selected from a qualified bid process and nearly 1,000 acres around the proposed airport site will need to be acquired.

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