airport/documents/Mesquite Master Plan Final.pdf - The City of ...

easonable capacity should start at
approximately 210,000 operations.
FAA Order 5090.3C, Field Formulation
of the National Plan of Integrated
Airport Systems (NPIAS), indicates that
improvements to capacity should be
considered when operations approach
60 to 75 percent of the airfield’s annual
service volume (ASV). If the projected
long range planning horizon level of
operations comes to fruition (166,500),
the airfield’s ASV will exceed the 60
percent level shortly after the
intermediate planning horizon. Thus,
additional airfield capacity enhancements
should be considered part of this
master plan.
The most typical and effective
enhancement to airfield capacity is the
construction of a parallel runway.
Construction of a parallel runway would
increase the airfield’s ASV to as much
as 300,000 operations. Other capacity
enhancements include construction of
additional taxiways and improved
navigational instrumentation. For
Mesquite Metro Airport, construction of
additional exit taxiways will not
significantly alleviate congestion due to
the adequacy of existing taxiways.
Navigational aid improvements,
including GPS improvements and lower
minimums for the southerly approach,
would provide some relief during poor
weather conditions.
The construction of a parallel runway
provides the best capacity increase to an
airfield system. This process, however,
is very costly and TxDOT will require
that the project be justified in order to
receive funding assistance. Quantifying
existing demand without the aid of an
3-13
airport traffic control tower (ATCT) is a
difficult task. Another consideration for
construction of a parallel runway at
Mesquite Metro Airport is the lack of
available airport property suitable for
construction. This would require the
acquisition of adjacent property which
is currently planned for other industrial
uses.
For planning purposes, however,
consideration will be given to the
construction of a parallel runway in the
long range planning period. Establishing
the potential for a parallel
runway will provide the City with an
option for development of adjacent
property. This option will be explored
further in the next chapter.
RUNWAYS
The adequacy of the existing runway
system at Mesquite Metro Airport has
been analyzed from a number of
perspectives, including runway
orientation, runway length, pavement
strength, width, and safety standards.
From this information, requirements for
runway improvements were determined
for the airport.
Runway Orientation
The airport is served by single runway
system. Runway 17-35 is orientated in
a north-south manner. For the
operational safety and efficiency of an
airport, it is desirable for the runway to
be oriented as close as possible to the
direction of the prevailing wind. This
reduces the impact of wind components
perpendicular to the direction of travel