State commission plans to recommend new airport site by June 15

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The debate over a new Puget Sound airport is about to get a lot more heated.

On Monday, state lawmakers returned to work and are expected to get an earful in the months ahead about the idea of building a new airport about the size of Sea-Tac Airport.

A state commission is due to recommend a single site for a new airport by June 15.

Last year, commissioners narrowed the list to two sites in Pierce County and one in Thurston County.

Separately, state transportation officials are studying a fourth site near Enumclaw.

Among neighbors of the sites, opposition appears unanimous.

“Those are beautiful rural areas that should not be destroyed by a mega airport,” Dawn Sonntag of Stop the Thurston Airport told KIRO 7 last fall.

So far, the only local government officials advocating for a major airport expansion are in Yakima.

Some lawmakers say the selection process that excluded King County and existing military bases doesn’t make sense.

“We need to start over,” said State Sen. John Braun (R-Minority Leader). “If it’s going to take us 10, 20, 30 years to build this out, we need to make sure we get the first two years right.”

In a presentation to legislators on Monday, members of the commission offered a ballpark cost figure of a two-runway, 3,100-acre airport at $13.8 billion in 2023 pricing, which could be nearly $25 billion in 2043.

Advocates of a new airport point to the limited space available to expand Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as a reason why a separate airport is necessary.

Prior to the pandemic, SEA was regularly setting new records for passenger volumes.

The airport has a footprint of 2,500 acres.

By comparison, San Francisco International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York each have footprints of roughly 4,900 acres.

The limited footprint at Sea-Tac affects de-icing operations because there’s not much room to do the work.

Last month, Alaska Airlines proactively canceled flights with snow in the forecast.

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