The Tucson City Council and the Pima County Board of Supervisors ratified an agreement with the Tucson Airport Authority and Raytheon Missile Systems Company on Dec. 15 to acquire land south of Raytheon for purposes of providing the defense contractor needed safety buffers.
The importance of the agreement cannot be overstated.
It not only protects Raytheon’s current operations, but, once completed, it will also give Raytheon protection in any future expansions. Additionally, the agreement helps Tucson International Airport improve and expand.
As we all know, Raytheon is our region’s largest private employer, with most of its employees earning well above the county’s per capita average salary. And the airport is our region’s economic linchpin. The agreement helps ensure the vitality of both economic engines.
In 2010, Raytheon had the opportunity to expand here but instead chose to build a facility in Alabama. The chief reason for that decision had to do with safety. The Department of Defense requires its contractors provide safety arcs for certain materials and activities; therefore, the space for a new facility did not exist at the Tucson facility.
The agreement ratified last week provides Raytheon the safety buffers it didn’t have in 2010. It also creates an opportunity for the airport authority to widen and lengthen its second runway. In other words, the agreement removes significant barriers for the expansion of these two regional economic catalysts.
The expanded second runway for the airport is needed primarily for safety. The one large runway capable of handling all types of aircraft is heavily used. There are more than just passenger carriers using that runway, including Bombardier, FedEx, Raytheon, Ascent Aviation, several executive and charter air services and general aviation. The Air National Guard also uses the runway and is the largest such training unit in the country, with more than 70 aircraft.
The heavy use can create delays and burden air traffic controllers, who have to keep track and manage all of those users.
But more than safety, the expanded second runway gives the airport the capacity to significantly expand its operations, adding more users of the airport, especially cargo carriers.
A major part of the Sonoran Corridor economic development initiative is to develop the intermodal transportation infrastructure necessary to capitalize on the increased cross-border trade with Mexico through the Nogales Port of Entry.
Numerous studies show that Tucson and the area surrounding the airport is ideally situated to capitalize on the rise of Mexico’s manufacturing and import-export economy.
Logistics companies are looking for the convenience of multimodal transportation opportunities: road, rail and air. The airport is obviously a key cog in that wheel.
Governments make a lot of agreements with each other, but December’s agreement shouldn’t be lumped in with the routine. This was an extraordinary event that was the result of years of work and negotiation.
It may someday, perhaps soon, be considered one of the most important in our region’s history.
