by Thomas Breen The New Haven independent
Tweed New Haven Airport’s operators announced this week that construction should begin next year — and wrap up by 2028 — on a long-delayed expansion project that has ballooned in cost to $250 million.
The top lawyer at a local environmental nonprofit and the mayor of East Haven, meanwhile, expressed skepticism about that timeline — as they voiced long-standing concerns around the project’s impact on the surrounding environment and residential neighborhood.
In a Tuesday morning press release, the New York City-based company STV — “a leading professional services firm that plans, designs and manages infrastructure projects across North America” — announced that it had been selected by Avports to lead construction management for Tweed’s expansion.
At the center of that plan is the construction of a new terminal on the East Haven side of the Morris Cove airport property as well as the extension of the airport’s main runway by nearly 1,000 feet in order to attract more commercial air service.
Tuesday’s announcement comes roughly a week after the airport announced the coming retirement of its executive director, and that the new East Terminal’s design is now 70 percent complete.
It also comes a few days before the nonprofit Save the Sound is set to appear in a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. on Friday morning for oral arguments in a case that contests the expansion’s potential environmental impact.
In a separate comment provided to the Independent on Wednesday, East Haven Mayor Joseph Carfora said that Tweed’s newly announced construction timeline is “premature” — as “this project remains subject to local land use approvals, public safety review, and a complete understanding of the impacts on East Haven residents.” (See more below.)
“We Are Ready To Turn This Vision Into Reality”
According to Tuesday’s press release, the airport expansion project is now expected to cost $250 million. Back when the project was first announced in 2021, the estimated price tag was $70 million.
The press release also states that construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, and should be complete by 2028.
The press release does not identify a specific date in 2026 when construction should start, nor does it say exactly what the start of construction should look like for the airport or surrounding area.
To quote directly from Tuesday’s press release, STV’s Hartford-based team will oversee the development of the following parts of the project:
- A new 80,000-square-foot East Terminal designed to improve operational efficiency and offer modern passenger amenities, including expanded gate areas, upgraded concessions as well as comfortable waiting and lounge spaces;
- A runway extension from 5,600 feet to 6,575 feet, enabling larger aircraft and expanded route options;
- Parking facilities for up to 4,000 vehicles, improving access and convenience for travelers;
- Environmental enhancements, including restoring 28.5 acres of tidal wetlands and creating more than three acres of new tidal salt marsh to compensate for the nine acres of wetlands affected by the project.
“This is an exciting step forward for The New HVN,” Tweed New Haven Airport Authority Chair Robert Reed is quoted as saying. “The selection of STV marks real, tangible progress toward delivering an airport that meets the growing demand for convenient air travel. We are encouraged by the momentum behind this project and believe now is the time for local and regional stakeholders to align with this progress. We look forward to watching this next chapter take shape with the support and collaboration of our neighbors.”
“Tweed-New Haven Airport is a gateway for growth, and we’re proud to help unlock its potential,” STV Vice President Mark DuPre is quoted as saying.
“This partnership with STV demonstrates our commitment to bringing home a newer, better airport for Southern Connecticut,” added The New HVN CEO Michael Jones, whose private company runs the public airport’s day-to-day operations. “STV understands that we are ready to turn this vision into reality.”
Court Fight Heads To D.C.
Meanwhile, on Friday at 9:30 a.m., attorneys representing Save the Sound and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will square off in oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
They’ll be arguing the merits of Save the Sound’s 2024 appeal of federal regulators’ 2023 approval of the airport’s Environmental Assessment of the expansion project.
Save the Sound has argued that that review was “inadequate” for a variety of reasons, including by not considering the actual number of passengers this expansion would bring to Tweed. Avports and the airport authority have argued that the FAA was right to determine that the expansion’s “insignificant impacts to wetlands and floodplains can be adequately mitigated.”
In a Wednesday afternoon phone interview, top Save the Sound attorney Roger Reynolds dismissed the airport’s Tuesday’s press release as “just another in the many they’ve made” in recent months. “To date they haven’t chosen to seriously address the environmental issues” associated with this expansion project, including that the new terminal will be constructed “entirely in a flood plain” and around a residential neighborhood and “sensitive wetlands.”
“Until they choose to seriously engage with the environmental issues instead of simply trying to minimize and distract from them, we don’t believe the project is going to be able to move forward,” Reynolds said.
He confirmed that lawyers representing Save the Sound and the FAA will engage in oral arguments on Friday at 9:30 a.m. in a D.C. federal appeals court in regards to Save the Sound’s Environmental Assessment appeal. Each side will have ten minutes to argue their case before a three-judge panel.
East Haven Mayor: This Timeline Is “Premature”
Carfora, the mayor of East Haven, told the Independent in an email comment Wednesday that none of the airport’s public announcements or construction timelines change the fact that the expansion project must also be approved by local agencies in East Haven.
“Our position has been consistent,” Carfora wrote. “East Haven must not be placed in a different category than any other community affected by a major expansion of this kind. The applicant followed local zoning and environmental processes in New Haven, and we expect the same respect for East Haven’s jurisdiction. This includes meaningful engagement on issues such as traffic circulation, stormwater and flood risk, emergency access, and the ongoing burden placed on the neighborhoods that border the airport.”
He added that the town will “exercise every regulatory and legal opportunity available to ensure that East Haven is protected. We will continue to participate in state and federal agency proceedings and will evaluate any new materials that Avports or STV submit. No press release can substitute for the required review or diminish the concerns raised by our residents, our public safety officials, and our engineering staff.
“Until that process is complete, any representation that the project is ready to move forward is premature.”