I'll say it again: Having lived in the Love Field flight path for most of my 42 years, what noise? But some of you probably don't feel the same way -- like, for instance, those who've called or written Angela Hunt to complain about the uptick in rumble in recent months. Back in late September, Hunt explained thusly: Construction on Runway 13R-31L, which runs parallel to Denton Drive, was closed during the summer while crews gave seven connecting taxiways a do-over. As a result, more planes were shoved onto the runway that runs parallel to Lemmon Avenue.
The job was supposed to have been wrapped November 20. And it was. Except ... well, here, let Assistant City Manager A.C. Gonzalez explain via Hunt's Thursday-night blog post:
While the Denton Dr. runway (RY 13R) was reopened in early November, on-going construction continues to limit aircraft access to the runway even though it is open. Therefore, the amount of traffic on the Lemmon Ave runway (RY 13L) has indeed remained higher than normal (pre-runway closure).Hunt says she's "committed to working to resolve this." Unless the mayor tells her to back off. I kid, I kid.
Staff is coordinating with the contractor, FAA Air Traffic staff and Southwest representatives to see if there are options to relieve the congestion which is causing the aircraft access problem to the runway. We expect to know some options to consider by tomorrow, pending the availability of the key people in those organizations.
