HOUSTON, Alaska (KTUU) – The city of Houston is in the early stages of its efforts to build a municipal airport, but Willow residents aren’t sold on the idea because the state land being considered as a possible site is within city limits.

The proposed site for the airport would allow for a 10,000-foot runway – just 2,000 feet shorter than the longest runway at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Houston Mayor Carter Cole said he believes the city should have had an airport a long time ago.

“Air is critical for travel to Alaska,” Cole said. “I don’t understand why it can’t exist and why it’s never been introduced here before.”

The proposed plan has faced opposition from Willow residents, who have expressed concern about noise and environmental impacts that could result if a major airport were built in the proposed area south of Nancy Lake and east of Lynx Lake.

Tryg Erickson, who is serving his third year as chair of the Willow Area Community Organization (WACO), said the community was completely blindsided by the city of Houston’s proposal after first hearing about it nearly a week ago.

“People in Houston seem to be acting like there’s an emergency – like the 747s are circling nearby looking for a place to land – so this is a bit of a surprise,” Erickson said.

Erickson, who has worked as a pilot for most of his life, said Willow has 27 federally recognized runways in his jurisdiction. He said he doesn’t see the need or understand why the city of Houston is proposing such a major air hub.

In addition, he fears that this would inevitably lead to a waste of state and taxpayers’ money.

“The general opinion is that this is just another project that will probably never happen, but that we’re going to invest millions and millions of dollars in studies and investigations,” Erickson said. “And after we’ve invested a few million dollars, the consensus is, ‘Well, we’ve spent so much money, why should we stop now?'”

Erickson said he did not want Houston’s municipal airport project to fall into the same category of forgotten projects in Matanuska-Susitna County, citing the Susitna Dam and Point McKenzie Railroad projects.

While Cole expressed no concern that the wave of opposition would hinder the project’s progress, he was surprised by the initial negative reaction from Willow residents in the early planning stages.

“I mean, I probably won’t even be alive when this thing is fully developed,” Cole said. “I was extremely baffled that people were trying to talk down something that won’t be possible for 20 or 30 years… when it’s developed.”

Another argument for the proposed municipal airport is that it will have less impact on Alaska’s road infrastructure, since cargo can be brought into the region by plane rather than truck. In addition, the airport could serve as a means of transporting supplies in an emergency, such as if the bridges over the Knik and Matanuska rivers were destroyed, Cole said.

“If we lost these bridges, how else would we serve the north side of the city?” Cole said.

Erickson, however, disagreed. He believes the number and varying lengths of the dozens of runways in the area – in addition to the larger municipal airports in Palmer and Wasilla – would be sufficient for disaster response.

“These are all good, high-quality airports that have always existed,” Erickson said. “I don’t see any particular need for one in Houston.”

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