Plans For New Runway At Lambert Going Ahead

Officials at Lambert Airport in St. Louis insist the latest blow to the airline industry won’t halt plans to add a runway. A 9,000 foot runway costing between 1.1-Billion and $1.4-Billion is scheduled to open in 2006. Lambert Director Leonard Griggs says financing for the expansion hasbeen based on conservative estimates, including the possibility of TWA going bankrupt, which would cost the airport 40-percent of its flights. American Airlines has announced it will lay-off 7,000 employees, as many as 1,400 in St. Louis. Griggs says Lambert needs the third runwayto prevent flight delays during bad weather.