Erie Ambassador Program: Session 2 – Airport/Transportation

On another brisk winter evening, we met for the second session of the Spring 2014 Erie Ambassador Program, where we learned about two important Erie organizations: Erie International Airport and DevelopErie. This session was held in the Erie International Trade Center building, located on West 20^th Street, which runs parallel to the airports southern border.

Chris Rogers, executive director of the Erie Regional Airport Authority, presented first, focusing mainly on the recent runway extension. Prior to providing particulars of the runway extension, Rogers gave an interesting history of the airport and relevant statistics of airport operations today, working his way toward mention of the flight from Toronto that overshot the runway in 1986. No one was seriously hurt in that mishap, but it provided vivid justification for extending the runway by 2,000 feet nearly two decades later.

A longer runway is not only safer, but it will help to keep Erie’s airport viable and will attract larger planes that can travel longer distances before or after their stops in Erie. The airport now has the potential to add direct flights to Chicago, New York City, and Washington, DC. In addition, it could attract vacation charters, such as USA 3000, Apple, and Funjet, and also air cargo carriers, like FedEx and UPS.

The next 20 years might see the addition of an air-freight building, a new control tower, a new terminal building, and a parking garage. The biggest takeaway from Rogers’ presentation is that Erie is fortunate, for its size, to benefit from a full-service airport. He believes that there is a high degree of community support for the airport, too.

Next to present was Dave Brennan, director of planning and design for DevelopErie, formerly known as Economic Development Corporation of Erie County. DevelopErie focuses on ports, property, research, and investment. DevelopErie is also associated with the Erie Inland Port project, which is a transportation-based economic strategy bringing together rail, highway, and marine transportation to drive industrial growth and increase global opportunities.

Brennan provided an overview of three current DevelopErie projects, the Albion development site, port of Erie, and Erie rail terminal.

Albion Development Site

Approximately 25 miles south of Erie, lies Albion, PA, a small community decimated by a deadly tornado in 1985 that killed a dozen people, caused massive property damage, and eliminated 700 jobs. What it didn’t take away is a 400-acre site that contains some of the major components for economic development, such as high-voltage electric, high-pressure natural gas, and close proximity to Lake Erie and an abundant source of water. DevelopErie is working with an iron-smelting plant, which would add more than 500 full-time jobs to the area. Smelting takes iron ore and makes it into metal. It produces a waste product called slag, and the process can affect the environment, so it will be important to minimally impact the ecosystems surrounding the area.

Port of Erie

DevelopErie is working on attracting a wood pellet/biomass export operation to Erie’s bayfront area where the former International Paper plant was located. Wood pellets are made from sawdust and other sawmill waste and become uniformly sized wood-based fuel, which is burned in pellet stoves. According to the North American Wood Fiber Review, wood-pellet exports from North America have set a record of more than one-million tons in the first quarter of 2013. The Port of Erie project aims to increase the docking capacity of Erie’s port, so that more ships can dock at any given time, allowing exports from the wood-pellet operation.

Erie Rail Terminal

Under development by DevelopErie and some private investors, the Erie Rail Terminal would provide intermodal rail service to the Erie region, improving its trade links, by providing daily container service to New York city and connecting service to many cities and ports through a CSX hub in Northwest Ohio. The preferred site for the terminal is on Buffalo Road between Wallbridge and Nagle Road, but there is some opposition from the residents. The $60 million project would add an additional 5,000 feet of track along a 10,000 foot expanse, the distance necessary to slow a train down enough to stop and use the terminal.

We enjoyed our second session in the Erie Ambassador Program and feel privileged to get these inside views on what is happening in our area to make it strong and vibrant. Chris Rogers cited a quote from Mike Boyd of the Boyd Group, referring to this region not as a rust belt, but as a growth belt.

We’re also looking forward to our next session, which will take a look at arts and culture through the Erie Playhouse, one of the oldest and largest community theatres in the nation.

Ann Silverthorn (Twitter: @annsilverthorn)  is a versatile blogger who’s written about a wide variety of subjects in a vast number of genres. She’s a proven writer on technology topics, in addition to travel, creative, and grant writing. Ann is currently working on a biography on the life of William E. Dimorier (1871-1951), the nearly forgotten poet and assistant principal of Academy High School in Erie, PA, who dedicated his life to the betterment of young people. Dimorier’s story will demonstrate how this man of humble beginnings positively influenced many lives around the world.