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Kansas looks to build airport in Johnson Co. to rival KCI
The state of Kansas is looking to build a new airport in Johnson County to rival Kansas City International. Airlines are requesting construction of a new single terminal airport at MCI, and the state of Kansas is continually looking for new economic development opportunities. With more than 50 percent of MCI passengers coming from Kansas, we are exploring the possibilities of this project.” (www.kctv5.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
If Nexgen were to work, the one thing we are short is new runways. In most cities there is no place to expand. But will any one use the new airport say at someplace like NAS Olathe or New Century. I remember Mid America in IL. just over the bridge from St Louis and No uses it.
this airport was designed before the need for TSA screening became a necessity, meaning bad flows of crowds during peak traveling times coupled with poor facilities for those who have been screened, now waiting for boarding. The worst parts of the new York city subway system in view for all to see. Cramped, crowded, uncomfortable seats, a true cattle car experience for those about to board cattle car airlines. But close in parking and few steps to the gates: not enough good things to speak of here.
I don't think the neighbors would be too keen on an expansion of IXD, but I wonder if Sunflower would not make a good location. Infrastructure would need to expand, perhaps rapid transit to downtown. Environmental cleanup is still a big unknown. But it's the largest undeveloped area in the county. As far as I can tell...
MCI has the least room at gates of any airport of it's size, the 1/4 circle of gates is the worse design ever.
I absolutely love KMCI as a traveler. It's the only commercial airport in the country (that I am aware of) where I can arrive on the airport property, park, walk to the terminal, check a bag, go through security, AND order a beer to drink while I wait at my gate in under 15 minutes. As you can tell, I am in the no-renovation-club.
This all said, I think a commercial airport in Johnson County is the best alternative to doing nothing at all to KMCI. KIXD and KOJC are widely used for business travelers on charter or private a/c. KIXD could probably even sustain commercial traffic considering its location. It's also substantially closer than KMCI to 75% of the metro's corporations, with many of them headquartered in or near Overland Park (Sprint, Burns & McDonnel, Black & Veatch, OP Convention Center, Teva, YRC, etc, etc). The only thing about this idea that I fear is the tax burden to accomplish it. We have some of the highest taxes in the country in Johnson County for things like a bus system that nobody uses (read this: MASS Transit in suburban Kansas). The plan better be funded out of existing coffers or as a P3.
This all said, I think a commercial airport in Johnson County is the best alternative to doing nothing at all to KMCI. KIXD and KOJC are widely used for business travelers on charter or private a/c. KIXD could probably even sustain commercial traffic considering its location. It's also substantially closer than KMCI to 75% of the metro's corporations, with many of them headquartered in or near Overland Park (Sprint, Burns & McDonnel, Black & Veatch, OP Convention Center, Teva, YRC, etc, etc). The only thing about this idea that I fear is the tax burden to accomplish it. We have some of the highest taxes in the country in Johnson County for things like a bus system that nobody uses (read this: MASS Transit in suburban Kansas). The plan better be funded out of existing coffers or as a P3.
Well I got ya beat. Parked my pickup in the lot at LBB and was sitting in my seat on the plane in 7 minutes once. No checked bag.
KOJC and KIXD would both face challenges trying to add commercial aviation.
KOJC is a single runway just shy of 5,000 feet, and not rated for commercial weights. At the same time, residential construction has occurred almost up to the perimeter fence, requiring a lot of imminent domain cases to gain the space to extend the runway, and probably for construction of the terminal/parking/etc. You also are several miles from I-35 and US-69 that would require travel on surface streets, adding to access woes, not to mention the "neighbors" who despite the airport being there before them complain about the noise when the flight schools are doing touch and gos.
KIXD bears challenges in that the airports commission has allowed commercial development almost up to the Air Operations Area. It does have a 7300 foot runway with decent weight capacity, but its secondary runway is much too short for commercial. The other challenge is the only undeveloped space is on the "backside" of the airport (South East of the field) which would require new taxiways and more road infrastructure to support a terminal (the west side is serviced by a major roadway and there is an existing interchange with US56 from that side, whereas the access from "Old 56" to the East is not built for capacity. The positive thing about that undeveloped property is that the BNSF Railroad is just across "Old 56" from that land, so adding commuter rail to Downtown Kansas City would not be difficult (although Kansas City has not built any commuter rail infrastructure, there would still be the costs of building the railcar fleet)
That said, there is some talk among the locals to look at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant (38°55'51.65" N 95°00'56.38" W). It is a large undeveloped piece of land that has been talked about building a theme park at for many years, but it has yet to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if the company that owns it wouldn't be interested in selling it back to the Government. It is only a Mile from State Highway 10, so the road infrastructure could be built out easily, there is an existing rail spur for commuter rail on the property, and there's enough room to build multiple runways of up to 10,000 feet length. Even better, there's only rural development around it, so there would be no significant concerns of encroachment or flight approach obstacles. The bad of this idea is since there is no existing runways or infrastructure to baseline from, the capital outlay to construct it would be much higher, and more time required to build a working airport.
All that said, I know I would consider flying into there from KDFW/KDAL on commercial flights, since my travel time to family South-East of there is less if I drive than if I fly to KMCI (considering the time to get to the airport, deal with security, deal with a rental car and drive back to my family's place on top of the 90 minute flight)
KOJC is a single runway just shy of 5,000 feet, and not rated for commercial weights. At the same time, residential construction has occurred almost up to the perimeter fence, requiring a lot of imminent domain cases to gain the space to extend the runway, and probably for construction of the terminal/parking/etc. You also are several miles from I-35 and US-69 that would require travel on surface streets, adding to access woes, not to mention the "neighbors" who despite the airport being there before them complain about the noise when the flight schools are doing touch and gos.
KIXD bears challenges in that the airports commission has allowed commercial development almost up to the Air Operations Area. It does have a 7300 foot runway with decent weight capacity, but its secondary runway is much too short for commercial. The other challenge is the only undeveloped space is on the "backside" of the airport (South East of the field) which would require new taxiways and more road infrastructure to support a terminal (the west side is serviced by a major roadway and there is an existing interchange with US56 from that side, whereas the access from "Old 56" to the East is not built for capacity. The positive thing about that undeveloped property is that the BNSF Railroad is just across "Old 56" from that land, so adding commuter rail to Downtown Kansas City would not be difficult (although Kansas City has not built any commuter rail infrastructure, there would still be the costs of building the railcar fleet)
That said, there is some talk among the locals to look at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant (38°55'51.65" N 95°00'56.38" W). It is a large undeveloped piece of land that has been talked about building a theme park at for many years, but it has yet to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if the company that owns it wouldn't be interested in selling it back to the Government. It is only a Mile from State Highway 10, so the road infrastructure could be built out easily, there is an existing rail spur for commuter rail on the property, and there's enough room to build multiple runways of up to 10,000 feet length. Even better, there's only rural development around it, so there would be no significant concerns of encroachment or flight approach obstacles. The bad of this idea is since there is no existing runways or infrastructure to baseline from, the capital outlay to construct it would be much higher, and more time required to build a working airport.
All that said, I know I would consider flying into there from KDFW/KDAL on commercial flights, since my travel time to family South-East of there is less if I drive than if I fly to KMCI (considering the time to get to the airport, deal with security, deal with a rental car and drive back to my family's place on top of the 90 minute flight)
There is no reason that I can conceive why a better terminal could not be built on the West or South or Southeast side of the current one without disrupting travel one bit. Kansas City should explore this approach before the kansans become emboldened.
As for the Johnson County alternative... It is a terrible idea. Already MCI sits closer to the kansas side of things than the Missouri side, just because of how the Missouri flows W-NW. Besides that, building a major airport in Johnson County where the nicer suburbs are would tank fairly nice property values and homes in that area. However, the governor of kansas has done a great job tanking the rest of the state, so I'm sure this fits right into his mind as a "good" idea.