Flight delays expected because of runway repaving project PHOENIX (AP) =97 Passengers at Sky Harbor International Airport could face= =20 flight delays as the airport's main takeoff runway gets repaved, officials= =20 said. The $66 million project to convert the runway from asphalt to=20 concrete also could create more noise overhead for neighbors, though=20 officials deny it will increase noise near the airport. The airport will=20 close its center runway, used now for all takeoffs, from Jan. 6 until the=20 last week of February. The work will mean shifting takeoffs to the north=20 and south runways and rescheduling some arrivals. The average arrival rate= =20 of 68 planes per hour will fall to 48 with one fewer runway space, said Gus= =20 Nezer, spokesman for the Phoenix office of the Federal Aviation=20 Administration. Airport officials are recommending customers give=20 themselves extra time for connecting flights and out-of-town meetings=20 during the closure, slated for post-holidays but during the high tourist=20 season. The work must be done before hot weather sets in. Airport personnel call the project standard maintenance. Tempe tried to=20 stop it by filing a lawsuit last summer, raising concerns that the project= =20 would cause noise and pollution and accusing Phoenix and the FAA of not=20 conducting adequate environmental analysis. "I think of Sky Harbor as a=20 bully," said Susan Forbes, whose Tempe home sits under the flight path and= =20 got extra soundproofing under a noise-mitigation program paid for by the=20 airport. "They do what they want, and people don't matter." The conversion from asphalt to concrete will allow the runway to stand up=20 longer and cost less to maintain, said airport spokeswoman Deborah=20 Ostreicher. The runway was built in the 1940s and required paving every=20 seven years. Ostreicher said the new 18-inch-thick concrete runway will=20 only need paving every 30 years. Preliminary work on the runway began in=20 July and included electrical, drainage and taxiway reconstruction but did=20 not affect airplane traffic or passengers. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************