Federal bill puts wings on airport plans

The bill, the Air Transportation Improvement Act, was approved Wednesday by the House of Representatives after this past week's passage by the U.S. Senate.

If signed into law, the measure will grant federal permission for Caltrans, the California Department of Transportation, to move ahead with construction of a new leg of the Antelope Valley Freeway referred to as the Avenue P-8 bypass.

Construction might be as many as 10 years away, but it could be moved up now that the question of whether Caltrans could obtain an easement for the project seems to have been solved, said Steve Williams, Palmdale's director of Public Works.

"The city will be working with state and federal legislators to direct as much funding to the project as possible," which also should speed things up, Williams said.

The project could have been blocked if Caltrans was unable to obtain an easement from the federal government for use of land south of Palmdale Regional Airport.

Although the land is owned by Los Angeles World Airports, a department of the city of Los Angeles, it was purchased with fees paid by the airlines, which are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration, former City Councilman David Myers said.

Myers, now the north county regional manager for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., was a member of the Palmdale council for eight years. He was instrumental in helping the city reach an October agreement with the World Airports for the development of Palmdale Regional.

Key elements of the agreement included developing plans for new and larger passenger and cargo facilities and marketing those and existing facilities to commercial air carriers, commuter airlines, air cargo carriers and aviation maintenance operators.

"It seems like a little detail, but Congressman McKeon is to be congratulated for accomplishing this," Myers said, referring to Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, for adding the provision to the Air Transportation Improvement Act.

The fact the airline industry did not oppose the provision also is very encouraging, Myers added.

Because the airlines pay the fees used for the development of airports, they "are very particular about where it is spent," he said.

In the past, airlines have shown little support for the development of Palmdale Regional, favoring instead the expansion of Los Angeles International, he said.

The concern was that if Caltrans attempted to build on World Airports land, the airlines might attempt to block the Avenue P-8 bypass project in court based on the question of federal easement, Myers said.

"That is the roadblock that has been cleared by this federal legislation," he said.

Construction of an interchange at Avenue P-8 and extension of the AV Freeway to at least 20th Street East are key to the development of Palmdale's airport, Myers said.

Now, motorists must drive to Avenue P and take surface streets through business and residential areas to reach the airport's 20th Street East entrance.

"If you really want the airport to grow to its capability, get an interchange and a road to 20th East and you're there," Myers said.

Also, such a roadway would provide Palmdale with a longneeded, unblocked connection over railroad tracks that separate its east and west sides, he said.

Caltrans began purchasing property for the construction of an interchange at Avenue P-8 in about 1993. To date, the department has spent about half the $20 million in state funds allocated for the project on land acquisition.

In October, World Airports officials said they were prepared to grant Caltrans the easements needed to extend the freeway from the interchange to the east.

The only thing left is for Caltrans to purchase any property needed in addition to the right-ofway it either already owns or will be granted by obtaining the easement, Myers said.

Enactment of the Air Transportation Improvement Act will allow the World Airports to move ahead with the dedication of the property for use by Caltrans, Williams said.

"Then, we believe, funding and future funding will come fairly easily to the project," allowing Caltrans to move it up on its list of priorities, he said.

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said McKeon's ability to get the easement question resolved "is very important to our airport. That access is a critical link."

"The FAA needed this type of language to be able to make the easement possible for that access to occur," Ledford said.

Now, "I'd love to see (the project) moved up," he said. "I'd like to press for the environmental work and money to get it into the design phase. Then we can ask for the money to build it."

Building a freeway extension to 47th Street East is the first phase of a plan to eventually build a new east-west thoroughfare between the Antelope Valley Freeway and Interstate 15 near Victorville, essentially replacing the current Highway 138 route through downtown Palmdale, the mayor said.