USU to benefit from improvements on Logan-Cache Airport
The Logan-Cache Airport runway, which has just been lengthened, is undergoing strengthening construction.
Sarah Ann Skanchy, chairman of the Airport Authority Board, said the construction project to lengthen the main runway began about five years ago. The project has already been completed, adding 3,100 feet of stable landing surface and making the total distance about 9,100 feet.
The lengthening of the runway, as well as the current strengthening project, will enable the Logan-Cache Airport to accommodate larger, heavier planes. The new and improved runway will make it possible for planes that weigh more than 64,000 pounds to regularly land and take off, Skanchy said.
“We are a growing community, so it will be so much faster to have a useable airport so close by,” Skanchy said.
By building a safer, stronger runway, the airport administration is hoping to attract cargo and commuter services to the Cache Valley area that will strengthen the local economy and businesses, Skanchy said. The Airport Authority Board’s ultimate goal is to bring commuter planes in from possibly Las Vegas or Denver, she said.
Another future project is to obtain an instrumental landing system that would aid in directing airplanes to the airport during bad winter weather.
“This was ultimately a safety issue,” Skanchy said. “We want to provide more security for the planes and the surrounding community.”
Skanchy said the funds for the airport construction projects, which are between $5 million and $8 million, have been raised through the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Airport Improvement Fund.
President Kermit L. Hall said Utah State University will be contributing $5,000 for a new, full-time manager position, enabling the airport administration to find “someone who knows the ins and outs.”
“The university is very supportive,” he said.
USU will directly see the advantages of airport improvements. The Space Dynamics Laboratory will be aided in the transportation of cargo to and from Salt Lake City, Hall said, and the education of student pilots in the USU flight program will be improved.
Skanchy said, “They now have the opportunity to utilize an airport with a longer and stronger runway.”
Rance Pugmire, director of Athletics, said his department is another beneficiary of the airport. Currently, athletic teams have to charter local bus companies to travel between Salt Lake City and Logan, but the improved runway opens up the possibility of chartering planes.
Pugmire said most athletic teams fly into Salt Lake City early in the morning, followed by a bus ride through Sardine Canyon, just to get back to Logan. With the charter planes coming directly into Logan, there will be less time-consuming travel for the numerous athletes.
“[USU] will also be made more attractive to the competition and a football conference,” he said. “It’ll make a big difference. Now, we are waiting on the instrumental landing system to start seeing the benefits. We are hoping for sooner, rather than later.”
Hall said the time frame for a new system depends largely on expansion of the Powder Mountain area, for which planning is already underway.
-mdinger@cc.usu.edu