To get Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s Taxiway D extended by about Sept. 1, 2012. That is to say, before a ton of Democrats and (corporate) friends get to town via all means possible. Including, yes, business jet.
Charlotte’s general aviation facilities are located on the east side of the airfield. To be specific, they and the N.C. Air National Guard are to the east of airport’s east most parallel runway, 18L/36R. The general aviation ramps and the ANG get to that runway via a taxiway, Taxiway D. Taxiway D though does not run the full length of the runway. That means that if a big corporate jet or a group of C-130s need to use the entire length of the runway, they have to actually cross the runway to get to the taxiway on the other side, which would take them to the ends of the runway.
This is obviously both inconvenient and a safety issue. Extending Taxiway D to the full length of Runway 18L/36R has been on the airport’s to do list since 1995. In 2009, the FAA approved funding to design the taxiway extension. Work is underway on the north portion of the extension and should be complete shortly.
Work has not begun on the south extension though. There’s still time to get that work done for before the DNC. Jerry Orr, you are on the case, right?
Bonus observation: Worried about this just being about fat cats in biz jets? No. A full-length Taxiway D increases airfield capacity and safety for all users, everyday of the year. Also makes operations much easier for the ANG when doing group flights. And that will help CLT keep the Air Guard based here when the next BRAC round comes.