New Runway to Open at Piedmont Triad

International Airport

January 26, 2010

The new runway (5L-23R) at Piedmont International Airport will open to air traffic Wednesday at 2 p.m.
“This is a great day for the airport and f`or the Piedmont Triad,” said Airport Authority
Chairman Henry Isaacson. “This new runway will give our region a competitive edge
when it comes to economic growth.”
The $150 million runway project adds a third runway to the airport’s existing two
runways. The new runway will be parallel to the airport’s 10,000-foot existing main
runway, giving the airport additional flexibility in scheduling simultaneous parallel
operations, and providing a back-up runway when one of the main runways is out of
service.
“The new runway also opens up new areas for economic development on the airport
campus,” Isaacson said. “We have almost exhausted the property we have for major
developments. This runway will provide more runway access for that type of project.”
The runway project was funded primarily by federal government grants, along with a
contribution of roughly $30 million coming from locally generated Airport Authority
revenues.
The opening of the 9,000-foot runway completes an airport expansion project that dates
back to April 1998 when FedEx first announced that the express package company
would build a mid-Atlantic hub at the airport.
The expansion project included the rerouting of a section of Bryan Boulevard to make
room for the new runway, the construction of a major new interchange entrance into the
airport, the construction of the 165-acre, eight-building FedEx hub complex, which
opened last June, and the runway.
The runway will open without ceremony Wednesday, but a dedication is planned for later
this Spring, Isaacson said.