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T.F. Green Airport Breaks Ground On Major Runway Expansion
Jul 12, 2016 | RINPR

Airport officials, lawmakers and local elected officials attended a ground-breaking ceremony Monday for a planned runway expansion at T.F. Green Airport. The expansion is aimed at attracting more airlines and more nonstop flights to the Ocean State. The construction will expand the major runway at T.F. Green to 8,700 feet, or a little longer than a mile and a half. Airport officials have touted the project as a way to accommodate the larger planes that fly coast-to-coast and overseas. “It puts us in the game to market now in a serious manner West Coast service and longer-haul service to Europe and other international destinations,” said T.F. Green Airport President Peter Frazier. Frazier said the airport has been in talks about flights to several destinations, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. “It's noticeable to us and the business community that we don’t have any direct service to Texas," said Frazier, citing another example. "Dallas would be ideal, Houston would be ideal.” Also on the wish list: direct service from Providence to Miami. As Rhode Island continued to feel the effects of the Great Recession, T.F. Green struggled to maintain ridership through the early 2010’s. But the airport has seen some growth recently in passenger numbers. Monday, Senator Jack Reed also announced federal funding to help mitigate airport noise for nearby residents. The $9.3 million will pay for some construction work on windows, doors to reduce jet noise. The new runway is slated to be ready for airplane traffic by the end of 2017. http://ripr.org/post/tf-green-airport-breaks-ground-major-runway-expansion