AirGrant

Local - Chicago Daily Herald - updated 9:36 AM ET May 30 Chicago Tribune | Daily Herald
Wednesday May 30 09:36 AM EDT

N.J. House Members Hail Grant for Air Traffic Study
Thursday, June 14, 2001

Reps. Steve Rothman, Rodney Frelinghuysen, and Mike Ferguson announced Wednesday that $8.5 million will go toward redesigning the New Jersey and New York airspace, the most congested in the nation. The three lawmakers also are asking Federal Aviation Administration officials to make airplane noise reduction one of the "primary purposes" of the redesign process.

"Residents of northern New Jersey, particularly those living near Teterboro Airport, are currently subjected to an unreasonable barrage of aircraft noise," said Rothman, D-Fair Lawn. "It is vital that the FAA make aircraft noise reduction a major focus of their redesign efforts." Ferguson, Frelinghuysen, and Rothman all want the FAA to consider using higher altitudes and ocean routes for planes. The FAA is studying ways to better route the traffic across the nation and above New Jersey and New York. The redesign is focused on reducing delays by allowing planes to travel closer together and by creating more routes in the skies.

Newark International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York consistently rank among the airports experiencing the most flight delays, something the redesign is intended to address.

"I'm looking forward to the day when I can both see and hear the results," Rothman said. "Nothing would make me and thousands of other people in northern New Jersey happier than the sounds of silence."

-- DANIEL SFORZA

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