South Lake Tahoe airport renovation returns natural state

By KATHRYN REED • Special to the Reno Gazette-Journal • July 13, 2008

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — A $7 million renovation scheduled to begin next month will restore land along the South Lake Tahoe airport runway to a stream environmental zone and use porous asphalt to reduce runoff.

Part of the project is the city’s restitution to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for cutting 387 trees without a permit in 2006.  The airport will remain open during construction.
The runway along the Upper Truckee River will be narrowed by 50 feet to 100 feet wide, wuith the same 8,544-foot length.  The narrower runway can accommodate 737s but not 757s. However, neither aircraft is likely to return to the South Shore airport that lost commercial service years ago.
 
“I see the airport as a safety center and a place for alternative transportation to reduce the vehicle miles traveled in the basin,” airport director Rick Jenkins said. “It has a substantial economic impact to the community.”
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