Travelers can expect delays with Sky Harbor construction PHOENIX (AP) =97 Travelers using Sky Harbor International Airport will face= =20 delays now that a repaving project is underway, officials said. With=20 Monday's closing of the airport's center runway, travelers can expect=20 delays of 20 to 40 minutes per flight, airport spokeswoman Debra Ostreicher= =20 said. Ostreicher said passengers should consult with their airlines in=20 cases where they're scheduled to have close connections. The construction,= =20 which will last an estimated 50 days, was scheduled for the airport's=20 slowest months =97 January and February. The project will cost $66 million.= =20 With the center runway closed, takeoffs and landings will occur on the=20 airport's north and south runways. The change will cut the arrival rate=20 from 68 planes per hour to 48 planes per hour. The runway's asphalt is=20 being overlaid with concrete, which needs major repairs much less often,=20 every 20 to 30 years compared with seven for the asphalt surface,=20 Ostreicher said. Construction began despite a lawsuit filed by Tempe, which= =20 claimed that Phoenix and the Federal Aviation Administration didn't conduct= =20 the required environmental analysis and that the project would aggravate=20 pollution. A federal judge on Friday denied Tempe's request for an=20 injunction to stop the construction, saying it could not prove it would win= =20 its suit or that construction would cause irreparable harm. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.hilofoodstores.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************