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Hemlock140 is correct: there is a regional airport study underway that's assessing the suitability of the medium to larger airports throughout the I-5 corridor and a little bit west, from Bellingham to Kitsap and Thurston counties based on numerous factors. This is due to Sea-Tac running out of capacity that even their currently planned improvements fail to meet. See: [url]https://www.psrc.org/aviation-baseline-study-open-house[/url]
for more information. As I remember, there is also a group tasked with coming up with recommendations of several options, then narrowing those down every few months until a final recommendation is arrived at in early 2022 if memory serves me correctly. They may choose to meet some or all of the projected unmet demand. It may be in the form of a single Sea-Tac like airport or, IMO much more likely, a little bit here, to a little bit there, to existing airports, which is much faster to come to fruition than building a new airport from scratch, something that doesn't happen too often nationwide (the last one was in Denver, 25 years ago, and 12 years after their study was completed, see [url]https://matadornetwork.com/read/america-no-new-airports/[/url]). From what I've seen and heard in the online meeting reports, the demand is greater south of Sea-Tac than north. There are airspace limitations around Sea-Tac for airports such as King County Field and Renton Airport and military traffic around McChord/Ft. Lewis, topographical challenges throughout, such as at Paine Field. In Thurston County, the area identified was west of I-5 and south of route 8/101. It will be interesting to see where the recommendation "lands," but I'd be surprised if it was in Thurston County.
upon further research the top 6 locations will be picked by the new year of 2021, which will then be winnowed down to just two sites by Sept 1st of 2021, and then a final decision will be made in 2022. There is still the option being floated around for building a completely new airport from scratch which would probably be built somewhere in the rural parts of southern Pierce county (probably just south of Graham?), although it's probably more likely to beef up one of our regional airports. I think ultimately Tumwater I think is too far south for it to become a top contender, and if an airport is to be built in Thurston county, it will probably be a completely new one from scratch north of Lacey, or maybe even right next to the Olympia Amtrak station since it's just fields on the other side of the tracks.
But either way the regional airports that are being floated around the most are;
Paine Field
Pro: Very close to population centers with great logistics having good highway access to I-5 via 526 and access to future light rail, and is already serving limited commercial flights.
Con: Locals are strongly opposed to the idea and would issue a long legal battle that the state could very well lose in the end. Also the area is already heavily developed and will be hard to add extra runways as the airport will would continue to expand over the decades.
Arlington Municipal Airport
Pro: It's located in a small rural-ish town so probably won't face as much opposition and there is more opportunity for growth than Paine Field and is relatively close to Everett and other north sound suburbs.
Con: It's somewhat remote from the Puget Sound center of population, and still doesn't really have enough land to expand into a Sea-Tac style airport in the future.
McChord Field
Pro: Very close to Tacoma and Olympia and other south sound suburbs, and has ample room to expand into a huge airport and nearby access to lakewood sounder commuter rail station.
Con: Is situated in a military base with the military possibly shooting down the idea if they don't want to share.
Bremerton National Airport
Pro: Of all the mentioned airports this one has the most room to grow as the area is completely undeveloped and is just 9 miles outside of downtown Bremerton, and the port of Bremerton is open to the idea of hosting the new international airport.
Con: One of the more isolated airports to the overall region (except for Kitsap and Pierce counties) and major funding will be needed to beef up the local infrastructure to handle the extra traffic as the area is already congested, particularly in Gorst.
I think the most attractive location is probably Paine Field, but getting it beyond a small regional airport is unlikely. The next one is probably McChord Field, but that is only if an agreement can be made with the military. Otherwise I think the Bremerton option is the most attractive. It has the most room to grow, and our population growth will eventually spill over to Kitsap anyway, might as well get ahead before the area becomes too developed. And as far as it's isolation, that can be solved by building a major passenger only fast ferry line (catamaran or hydrofoil) with frequent service between Seattle and Bremerton (as well as other areas such as maybe Ballard and Fauntleroy), with then a light rail connection to the airport from there. And then at some future date build a submerged floating tunnel across the sound. (Norway has already proposed to build one as it's building a new freeway along it's jagged western coast)
upon further research the top 6 locations will be picked by the new year of 2021, which will then be winnowed down to just two sites by Sept 1st of 2021, and then a final decision will be made in 2022. There is still the option being floated around for building a completely new airport from scratch which would probably be built somewhere in the rural parts of southern Pierce county (probably just south of Graham?), although it's probably more likely to beef up one of our regional airports. I think ultimately Tumwater I think is too far south for it to become a top contender, and if an airport is to be built in Thurston county, it will probably be a completely new one from scratch north of Lacey, or maybe even right next to the Olympia Amtrak station since it's just fields on the other side of the tracks.
But either way the regional airports that are being floated around the most are;
Paine Field
Pro: Very close to population centers with great logistics having good highway access to I-5 via 526 and access to future light rail, and is already serving limited commercial flights.
Con: Locals are strongly opposed to the idea and would issue a long legal battle that the state could very well lose in the end. Also the area is already heavily developed and will be hard to add extra runways as the airport will would continue to expand over the decades.
Arlington Municipal Airport
Pro: It's located in a small rural-ish town so probably won't face as much opposition and there is more opportunity for growth than Paine Field and is relatively close to Everett and other north sound suburbs.
Con: It's somewhat remote from the Puget Sound center of population, and still doesn't really have enough land to expand into a Sea-Tac style airport in the future.
McChord Field
Pro: Very close to Tacoma and Olympia and other south sound suburbs, and has ample room to expand into a huge airport and nearby access to lakewood sounder commuter rail station.
Con: Is situated in a military base with the military possibly shooting down the idea if they don't want to share.
Bremerton National Airport
Pro: Of all the mentioned airports this one has the most room to grow as the area is completely undeveloped and is just 9 miles outside of downtown Bremerton, and the port of Bremerton is open to the idea of hosting the new international airport.
Con: One of the more isolated airports to the overall region (except for Kitsap and Pierce counties) and major funding will be needed to beef up the local infrastructure to handle the extra traffic as the area is already congested, particularly in Gorst.
I think the most attractive location is probably Paine Field, but getting it beyond a small regional airport is unlikely. The next one is probably McChord Field, but that is only if an agreement can be made with the military. Otherwise I think the Bremerton option is the most attractive. It has the most room to grow, and our population growth will eventually spill over to Kitsap anyway, might as well get ahead before the area becomes too developed. And as far as it's isolation, that can be solved by building a major passenger only fast ferry line (catamaran or hydrofoil) with frequent service between Seattle and Bremerton (as well as other areas such as maybe Ballard and Fauntleroy), with then a light rail connection to the airport from there. And then at some future date build a submerged floating tunnel across the sound. (Norway has already proposed to build one as it's building a new freeway along it's jagged western coast)
All these options could work but I will reiterate that they would only work with high speed rail to Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma ala Japan and China examples.
“The two existing airport sites on the table are Bremerton National Airport and Snohomish County (Paine Field) Airport. The commission initially identified six existing airports before narrowing it down to two.
The 10 greenfield locations are: Skagit County Northwest, Skagit County Southwest, Snohomish County Northwest, Snohomish County Southeast, King County Southeast, Pierce County East, Pierce County Central, Thurston County Central, Thurston County South and Lewis County. A map on WSDOT’s website shows the general areas they’re considering.”
Yeah still been following this... with a certain amount of dread about having NO impact on the outcome. Just really hoping whatever they do isn't by me.
At least they abandoned the original swamp they were considering in Thurston County 5 years ago along the black river, now they're thinking about another swamp. These areas are "greenfields" for a reason.... they're not buildable - Not without a lot of work. And wetland destruction.
I'm a bit confused about why they wouldn't want to at least start with a current airport. Just in terms of the amount of flat real estate they'd have to find and buy.
Yeah still been following this... with a certain amount of dread about having NO impact on the outcome. Just really hoping whatever they do isn't by me.
At least they abandoned the original swamp they were considering in Thurston County 5 years ago along the black river, now they're thinking about another swamp. These areas are "greenfields" for a reason.... they're not buildable - Not without a lot of work. And wetland destruction.
I'm a bit confused about why they wouldn't want to at least start with a current airport. Just in terms of the amount of flat real estate they'd have to find and buy.
They are still considering the airports in Everett and Bremerton, but yes it seems like they might think it’s easier to just build a new airport from scratch? They will widow down the green field locations down to two, and then decide from there. Per the link I posted it looks like people in Enumclaw and Boney Lake are trying to get SouthEast King County off the list, I guess we’ll see if farmers in the other locations will push back against the other options.
They are still considering the airports in Everett and Bremerton, but yes it seems like they might think it’s easier to just build a new airport from scratch? They will widow down the green field locations down to two, and then decide from there. Per the link I posted it looks like people in Enumclaw and Boney Lake are trying to get SouthEast King County off the list, I guess we’ll see if farmers in the other locations will push back against the other options.
People down here are trying to kill the South end locations. Almost no one wants this anywhere near them.
I tend to agree. Paine is a good option for Snohomish county. However there are problems. Who would source new terminals there? For it to be competitive this would be needed. Is there room? I suppose there is. But building a secondary airport for a major city is complex, and needs a lot of local acceptance. I think this still is a long shot overall.
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Wherever they decide to build it, there will be a lot of opposition, protest, and probably lawsuits. No one wants to be close to an airport. People near Seatac today bought or rented there after the airport was already there, yet they still complain about any expansion or changes in the flight patterns that increase noise. When you home or business is well established in a quiet, peaceful and pollution-free area, the thought of a new airport being built nearby is daunting. Regardless, when the decision is made, it will get built, and the people there will end up very unhappy. Paine field opened to commercial flights to relieve Seatac, but that has failed since the airfares at Paine have gone up so much, people would rather deal with the Seatac congestion than spend the additional money to fly out of Everett.
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