FAA notes new option for Fort Lauderdale airport runway

FAA notes new option for Fort Lauderdale airport runway    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has completed a draft report on expansion options for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport runways that could shift Broward County's focus away from an earlier plan designed in part to avoid problems with container cranes at neighboring Port Everglades.
   Although the FAA report doesn't recommend a single option, a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said the FAA report notes it would be less expensive to build a new runway than to go with a runway extension plan considered to be the preferred option of the Broward County Commission, which has oversight over both the airport and seaport.
   The preferred plan would expand the existing south runway from 5,600 feet to 8,000 feet, and widen it from 100 feet to 150 feet. The runway extension might also require the east end of the runway to be elevated to allow aircraft to safely clear cranes at Port Everglades.
   However, the preliminary FAA report notes the county could shut down the existing runway and replace it with a new runway about 340 feet to the north. That would provide overall savings for two reasons. By extending the existing runway, another diagonal crosswinds runway in use would have to be closed. Also, a new runway at the second site would not have to be elevated to avoid hitting the port cranes.
   The FAA report said a new runway would cost an estimated $523 million, while the extended, elevated runway would cost $694 million.
   A final FAA report is not expected until next fall or winter. The county airport expansion plans are for mid- to long-term growth, with construction likely being completed in 2012.