The Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport, which has served the community for decades, is in the process of a major expansion. This project, although expensive, will benefit students and other travelers.

Pullman and Moscow community members, who are paying for about 8 percent of the total $119 million in construction costs, will see growth in local businesses, more convenience for students and other travelers, reduced cost for farmers exporting their products, and a greater connection with the country in general.

The runway expansion project is planned to be complete in the fall of 2019. So far, 1.8 million cubic yards of earth have been moved, and by the end of the year they want to be able to see from one end of the new runway to the other, called a runway prism. When the project is finished, the airport’s runway will be realigned, moved farther away from the existing taxiways and lengthened.

The proposal to expand the airport was first born out of necessity, Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport Director Tony Bean said. Currently, the runway and taxiways are not far enough apart to meet federal regulations for large passenger aircraft.

The airport has been operating under an exemption in which airline travel is permitted as long as no other planes are moving when commercial aircrafts take off and land. However, this exemption severely limits the capability of the airport to serve the Palouse.

This is important because many people in the Pullman-Moscow community, including students, use the airport’s Alaska Airlines service to travel. Without this construction project, that service would be put in jeopardy.

“If you enjoy the quality of life in Pullman and Moscow,” Bean said, “this airport is a large piece of that.”

Once the expansion is complete, athletic programs will be more likely to book charters into Pullman when they are competing against WSU. Because of federal regulations, large aircraft, such as those flown on cross-country charter flights, are heavily restricted as of now. As soon as the runway project is complete, these restrictions will be lifted.

Farmers who sell garbanzo beans and wheat would also be able to export their products at a lower cost because they can use the nearby airport to transport their product across the country, rather than shipping the produce to Seattle or Spokane.

Local businesses, such as Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, will be able to conduct business outside of the Palouse more easily, because there will be more frequent flight options available to them.

The airport expansion could potentially allow additional airlines to fly out of Pullman, Bean said. If there is competition in the airline market, ticket prices will be driven down, benefitting the average traveler.

Additionally, the runway expansion includes the construction of a new instrument landing system. This technology will allow pilots to land safely during difficult weather situations, that currently require aircrafts to divert to different airports.

All things considered, the airport expansion is a necessary and hugely beneficial program for this region, and will greatly improve the lives of people living in Pullman and Moscow.

“The economic impact of the project and everything that comes with it far exceeds the match value [of the construction],” Bean said.

Ridge Peterson is a junior marketing and economics major from Woodinville. He can be contacted at 335-2290 or by [email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.