Providence drops extension plan for secondary runway WARWICK, R.I. (AP) =97 The state Airport Corporation has abandoned a= proposal=20 to extend a runway at Providence's T.F. Green Airport, a decision hailed by= =20 city leaders and residents opposed to the plan. Airport Corporation=20 executive director Michael Cheston informed the Federal Aviation=20 Administration of the decision in a letter dated May 12. He wrote the plan= =20 was dropped because of continued public opposition and the costs of=20 extending the runway into the Buckeye Brook wetlands. "We've got to pick=20 our battles," Cheston said. Officials had wanted to extend the secondary,=20 crosswind runway by 2,000 feet, so it could be used more by commercial=20 airlines. The shorter runway has received little use when compared to the=20 main runway. But the city and residents living around Buckeye Brook said=20 the extension would pollute the wetland and bring more noise to=20 neighborhoods. Even former Gov. Bruce Sundlun, after whom a terminal at=20 Green is named, agreed with the decision. "Clearly, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation's viewpoint on this issue is= =20 a big victory for the City of Warwick and its residents," Mayor Scott=20 Avedisian told The Providence Journal. Airport executives now focus on=20 extending the primary runway at Green to 7,500 feet and eventually to 9,500= =20 feet, so it could accommodate international flights. The regional airport's= =20 largest carrier, Southwest, said the decision would have little effect. "We= =20 have grown since we've been there, and we still have room to grow,"=20 Southwest spokeswoman Christine Turneabe-Connelly said. Cheston said the=20 airport is considering adding 500-foot safety areas at each end of the=20 secondary runway. The corporation is studying using a new material called=20 Foamcrete, which acts like sand to help avert crashes. Avedisian said he'd= =20 back the idea, provided it didn't extend the runway. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.caribbeanfloral.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************