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January 27, 2009

Stalled Jetport project seeks fed money

Photo/David A. Rodgers Paul Bradbury, director of the Portland International Jetport
By Carol Coultas

Portland International Jetport Director Paul Bradbury is lobbying for support to fund a $76 million expansion of the airport through President Barack Obama's federal stimulus package.

Bradbury has been asking politicians in Augusta and Washington this week to back his proposal and earmark money for the project, which was mothballed last fall. Citing turmoil in the financial markets, Bradbury decided in October to postpone construction on the expansion until 2010. Now, with President Obama's $825 billion stimulus package teed up for passage by month's end, Bradbury sees another option to get the airport project back on a 2009 schedule.

"They're looking for shovel-ready and this is shovel-ready," he said. "For every $2 we put in to the project locally, we're asking for a $1 from the federal stimulus."

The airport, which just ended its busiest year ever, is angling for a terminal expansion to relieve congestion at security screening and to segregate arriving and departing passengers who now use the same facilities.

"We're designing through 2015," said Bradbury of the project, which includes a 145,000-square-foot terminal expansion and the addition of five gates. "We need to fix our Achilles' heel, which is the security screening. Right now we have four lanes. The expansion will increase it to 8 standard lanes, which can be modified to 13 when we need them."

The expansion would also create an overhead walkway between a parking garage and the terminal. Bradbury said if passengers don't need to check bags and have boarding passes, they can go directly from the garage to the security clearance area. He also noted that the resumption of international travel with the recent addition of service to Nova Scotia now requires passengers to clear U.S. Customs in a building separate from the main terminal - a situation he hopes to change through the expansion project.

Bradbury is tapping the federal stimulus for $22.63 million and expects to finance the $53.27 million local share through general airport revenue bonds. He said a shrinking pool of bond guarantee companies has meant a steep increase in the cost of financing the project through traditional bonding routes. Market conditions have changed so dramatically that the cost to finance the project now carries a 7.5% interest rate versus a 5.5% rate of a year ago, he said. If approved, the federal money will allow the project to go forward this year.

"It's just dumb luck that we're 95% designed and ready to go," said Bradbury. "We always wanted to start construction in the spring of ‘09 and if we get the stimulus money, we still can."

Passenger traffic at the jetport was up about 7% for the year, making 2008 its best year ever, according to Bradbury. More than 1.7 million people flew into or out of the airport in 2008, a number that was buoyed by two low-cost carriers and record-high gas prices.

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