Hot on the heels of the premise of
going up into the skies with sky scrapers, because we are running out
of land, plans are now at foot to extend outwards. Well, the airport
runway.

The Cayman Islands Airports Authority
(CIAA) have asked contractors to bid on extending the runway of the
Owen Roberts International Airport. The extension will be for an
additional 900 feet that will make the runway just under 8,000 feet
in total length.

The extension is west, not east, so it
will go towards Crewe Road and will mean the ponds at the west end of
the airport will have to be filled in and the equipment there will
have to be moved.

What will happen to the cricket ground?
No word on that. If it is still going to be used for cricket perhaps
you will get twelve runs added to your score if you hit one of the
planes trying to land?

Although the additional length would
mean direct flights to London could be achieved and provide
opportunities for other long haul flights, British Airways have
intimated that 9,200 feet is the desirable length.

That would mean extending into the
North Sound.

Oh dear.

Environmental concerns immediately
springs to mind at that one so I doubt that will happen anytime soon.

According to the CIAA, a pre-bid
meeting and site inspection will take place on March 18. and a
contractor, hopefully, chosen by June.

The paved area of the runway will also
have to be strengthened to allow for the heavier aircraft and loads,
plus the east apron would have to be expanded and drainage
improvements.

I nearly forgot about the 'jet blast
deflector wall'. Without that our cars going by cold also take an
unplanned flight.

The estimated cost of all this, a cool
$21M less or plus $500. The official estimate is $500 less. Any bets
it is the other way?

Going back to the sky scraper idea, one
reason being touted by a developer in favour of it, is the land is
becoming scarce and the costs landowners are asking is too much and
doesn't make building cost effective. In that case someone wanting to
sell their land would have no buyers, therefore they would have to
come down in price. Sorry, sir, that argument makes no sense at all.

Has anyone ever thought of vertical
runways for aeroplanes? Something like the way rockets take off? Now
that would solve the land problems and that might help get the
skyscraper proposals through. Everyone of them could have a vertical
runway on one of the sides.......

Am I the only one to think of that?