As the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station works to get its runways extended, the neighboring Niagara Falls International Airport is working on a taxiway improvement project of its own.
The Niagara Frontier Transit Authority is looking at an $11 million realignment of a taxiway at the airport’s eastern edge of the grounds, eliminating intersections it has with the airport’s main runway. It looks to have plans finalized later this year and start construction in 2027.
This past March, the NFTA released a draft environmental assessment that shows on the commercial side, 1,288 feet of Taxiway D would be realigned to be parallel with Runway 10L-28R. That 10,800-foot runway is also used by the air station’s military aircraft.
NFTA Director of Aviation Lee Weitz said currently, the taxiway leading to the airport’s main terminal does not go to the end of that runway, with commercial aircraft taking off from the same locations military aircraft do. The change would also decrease the chance of planes colliding.
“Taxiing on the current taxiway system on both sides can be confusing to pilots because you have to cross an active runway to get to another active runway,” Weitz said, noting how the ends of the airport’s two main runways intersect. “This project will fix the so-called hotspot.”
A hotspot is an area where airport runways and taxiways intersect which can create confusion among pilots, causing potential crashes. The Federal Aviation Administration looks at hotspots at airports across the country to identify which ones should be fixed.
The taxiway’s proposed route would go through a wetlands area on the airport property, which may require the relocation of a pond. Project diagrams also show some taxiway realignments and new pavement on the air reserve station side as part of a separate project involving runway extensions.
Airbase officials had previously told the Gazette they wanted the runways extended so the air tankers stationed at the base can carry more fuel for refueling planes mid-air.
Of the $11 million project cost, $9.9 million will come from the federal government. The remaining $1.1 million would be evenly split between the NFTA and the State of New York.
Weitz said the NFTA plans to have a completed design, file permits, and do any mitigation efforts for the wetlands by the end of the current federal fiscal year, which is Sept. 30. He noted there is usually a gap year between design and construction for federally funded projects like this, so the earliest construction work would start would be the spring of 2027.
Weitz feels they could complete that work within one construction season.
No passenger facility charge funds will be used for the construction efforts, though $50,000 was used during the design project. That is a $4.50 charge collected from every passenger leaving one of the NFTA’s two airports that are used for construction projects.
Allegiant Air is the only commercial airline currently flying out of Niagara Falls, flying to Myrtle Beach, Punta Gorda in Florida, Orlando-Sanford, and St. Petersburg-Clearwater.