The Port of Seattle unveiled the new third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport yesterday. The opening of the third runway is expected to cut flight delays from an average of 10 minutes to 2.5 minutes.
"This is a significant success for the Port of Seattle," said John Creighton, Port of Seattle Commission President. "The runway is expected to save of 5 million gallons of fuel for airlines and over 50,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year. Most importantly, it will reduce delays and save millions of dollars for airlines as well as time for passengers."
The third runway was built to reduce arrival delays during lower visibility weather at Sea-Tac. The two runways were too close together to allow two streams of traffic to arrive during those conditions. The third runway is far enough away from the easternmost runway to allow two streams of traffic to occur in virtually all weather conditions.
The current projected cost of the runway is $1,013 billion, about $115 millions dollars less than the approved budget for the project.
Sea-Tac Airport's third runway is 8,500 feet long, 150 feet wide and 17 inches thick. It required 130,000 cubic yards of concrete and 35,000 tons of asphalt (for the runway shoulders). It is designed to last 40 years. The construction included paving the new runway and eight connecting taxiways. The runway designation is 16R/34L.