DOWNER: Bigger airport needed at Fall Line Freeway

Published 5:00 pm Monday, November 20, 2023

As a resident of West Lakeview Drive, I have concerns about the current plans for the Baldwin County Airport. We have lived here for 32 years, and until recently the airport had no negative impact on nearby residential areas. No one minded the small aircraft that the airport was designed to handle when it opened in 1959. This is no longer the case. This airport should remain as it was intended, for the use of small single and multi-engine aircraft. In the early 1960s when lakefront property was being developed, no one could have imagined the airport ever accommodating jets.

The county purchased land, at no small expense, in the southern part of the county near the Fall Line Freeway. About 20 years ago, give or take, there was a proposal to build a larger airport there because of the potential for expansion and further development. Surely no one believes that the current location will be adequate in five to 10 years, much less 50 years. Development needs to be planned that far into the future. Meeting the needs of the past 10 or 15 years is a total waste of money.

For industry to come to Baldwin County, there needs to be a much larger airport to accommodate jet aircraft, and also an Interstate. The best chance of that happening is along the Fall Line Freeway.

Plans made today should address long term needs. The alternatives must be considered now, before any more money is spent.

Arlene D. Downer

Milledgeville