John Brantley Airport Director

What A Difference A Runway Has Made
Editorial

April Fool's Day 1986. It probably wasn't a very memorable day for most people. But for RDU, it was a day that will be remembered as one of the highlights in the airport's history.

When RDU opened on May 1, 1943, it had three 4,500-foot long runways constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to serve World War II pilot training. Those runways also served the daily flights of Eastern Air Lines' DC-3 aircraft as Eastern relocated to RDU from Raleigh Municipal Airport the day the new airport opened. By early 1948, Eastern had been joined by both Capital and Piedmont Airlines, whose principal aircraft also was the DC-3. As Eastern grew to the DC-4 and the DC-6, however, RDU's runways also needed to grow in length.

The airport's primary runway, 5-23, was extended in length several times, first to 5,000 feet, then to 5,500 feet and finally to 7,500 feet in 1959-60. The other two runways, which intersected 5-23, remained at their original lengths. With service by Eastern's new B-727 jet aircraft on the horizon, the Airport Authority realized the airport needed another runway capable of use by those aircraft. Without one, RDU's air service would be largely cut off in the event an accident or the need for major rehabilitation closed 5-23 for an extended period.

Planning for another airline service runway began in 1962. The plan that was developed called for a new runway parallel to 5-23 to be built 5,000 feet southeast, traversing some land that was part of Umstead State Park. By 1970 it was apparent that land could not be obtained, and thus this plan could not be implemented. During the next seven years, a plan to parallel one of RDU's other runways, itself to be extended in length, was developed and analyzed. However, both the new and old runways would point directly at the Research Triangle Park and west Raleigh , thus drawing strong opposition from both areas that caused it to be shelved.

Luckily, the third time around was the charm. A planning effort begun in 1977 was successful in producing a plan acceptable to all parties to build a new runway 3,500 feet northwest of and parallel to 5-23. This meant that both the old and new runways would operate in tandem and each could accommodate the airport's airline flights. Some 600 acres of land were acquired in 1981-83, clearing of vegetation was done in 1982, earthwork and drainage followed in 1983-84, and paving and lighting of the 10,000-foot runway began in early 1985 and was completed late that year. Finally, after a quarter of a century, the idea of 1960 had become a reality.

At 3:27 pm on April 1, 1986, Piedmont Airlines Flight 41 from Washington's National Airport touched down on Runway 23R, the first aircraft to land on the newly-opened runway. About 15 minutes later, an Eastern Airlines flight to Atlanta became the first aircraft to take off on the new runway. RDU finally had become the airport the Triangle region needed to project itself as a world-class region.

In looking back over the past 20 years, it is clear the new runway was just the beginning of what has been a truly amazing transformation of a small airport largely used by private aircraft into a center of commerce for a region stretching up to 200 miles in every direction. It completed the foundation on which has been built the great asset that RDU is to the region and the state of North Carolina today. Today, RDU is the Triangle region's gateway to the world. And how ironic, the most important part of the foundation was completed on April Fool's Day.

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