Airport Master Plan 2012 - City of Waterville

4.0 Alternatives Analysis
Chapter 1 accumulated the baseline of existing airport data, Chapter 2 presented the outlook for the future
in terms of forecasting operational activity, and Chapter 3 defined the facilities that would be needed
assuming the Airport could provide them. Phase II of this Master Plan Update calls for an “Alternatives
Analysis”, which takes all the previous information and assesses what can be provided in terms of Airport
development. Unlike the Facility Requirements which were unconstrained, the Alternatives Analysis
considers any limiting factors associated with potential future development. Within this Working Paper,
alternatives are identified and evaluated for Runway and Taxiway Systems, Aircraft Parking Aprons, as
well as Supporting Airport Infrastructure such as NAVAIDs, Land Acquisition FBO Development,
Hangar Development and Airport Equipment Storage Buildings.
In assessing alternatives, it is important to consider: Engineering Feasibility, Environmental Impacts,
Land Use impacts and the Financial Costs versus the operational and safety benefits a specific alternative
may provide to the Airport. It is the difference between “requirements” and “reality”. The objective is to
create a realistic and achievable plan of improvements that can be depicted on the Airport Layout Plan
(ALP) and ultimately implemented to meet the projected aeronautical activity forecasted for the Airport.
This assessment uses the general descriptions provided below.
Operational Efficiency and Safety: How well the alternative functions from an airport
operations and safety standpoint. This section may also include a discussion of the timing for
future CIP improvements such as runway reconstruction, including an evaluation of alternatives
for the cross wind runway. For instance, the cross-wind Runway 14-32 is in noticeably worse
condition than the primary ILS Runway 5-23. The analysis will consider the benefits of closing
the crosswind runway to more efficiently use project funding to rehabilitate Runway 5-23.
Engineering Feasibility and Cost: To ensure that the alternatives satisfy FAA design standards
and are practical from an engineering and construction standpoint, alternatives will consider the
level of engineering and costs associated with each alternative.
Environmental Impacts: Each alternative will be broadly evaluated to identify potential
environmental impacts that must be assessed in detail in a subsequent environmental study.
Land Use Impacts: Property acquisition or easement requirements, and potential land use or
zoning changes shall be identified. Possible alternative uses of available land include Industrial
Use, Business/Corporate Development, Commercial Use, and Recreational Use.
The physical arrangement of future airport facilities is determined through an analysis of alternative
airport layouts. The purpose is to identify how projected facility requirements can be developed and
accommodated within the physical constraints of the Airport environment. In order to clearly identify
each alternative, the alternatives are labeled throughout this working paper as follows:
Runway Alternatives – R1, R2, R3, etc.
Taxiway Alternatives – T1, T2, T3, etc.
Apron Area Alternatives – A1, A2, A3, etc.
FBO Alternatives- F1, F2, F3, etc.
Hangar Alternatives – H1, H2, H3, etc.
Support Facility Alternatives – S1, S2, S3, etc.
Land Acquisition Alternatives – L1, L2, L3, etc.
The City of Waterville Maine
Alternatives Analysis – Page 4-1
Airport Solutions Group, LLC & The Louis Berger Group, Inc. December 2011