U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., is no stranger to Trenton-Mercer airport. As a frequent flier, she and Mercer County officials gave the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg an insider’s tour Wednesday to make the case for federal funding to relocate an air traffic control tower and replace the small and aging terminal.
The tour that started on the tarmac and wound through departure, baggage claims and the main terminals, showed why the complex — built in 1960 — needs replacement with a proposed new 125,000 square feet terminal building, officials said. The tour was also an opportunity to talk about another project to build a new control tower in a location that has the best line of sight.
“There’s a lot of appetite here improving that passenger experience,” Buttigieg said after the tour. “A lot of the facilities are showing their age. Being able to see it for myself gives me a better sense of the interest and the urgency of the upgrades and terminal replacement that’s planned.”
Watson Coleman stressed the airport’s regional importance both to New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania.
“I’m grateful the secretary took some time out to see for himself what somebody from the twelfth district has been in his ear about for quite a while,” the lawmaker said. “This is an asset, a great economic generator and convenient for families with children who don’t want to fly out of big airports.”
The proposed new terminal would have four modern gates, 10 ticket counters and better airport facilities, from baggage screening and claims, to bathrooms, concession areas and new TSA screening areas. County plans said the new building would accommodate air passenger growth out to 2035.
While the number of gates isn’t increased, the new terminal would allow larger Airbus A320 aircraft to use all gates. Now, only two gates serve larger airliners. On Wednesday, a waiting Frontier Airlines aircraft dwarfed the building that serves it, illustrating the need.
The plans also include a new airport fire department building, since the old one would be demolished to build a new terminal. A parking garage also is part of the plan. A finding of no significant impact and a record of decision on the environmental impact statement of the proposed new terminal was issued by the FAA in February 2022.
The Nov. 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $5 billion for competitive grants for airport terminal development projects that address aging infrastructure. A second $1 billion will fund projects at 99 airports across the country.
Airport officials applied unsuccessfully for grants from the bipartisan infrastructure law, passed in Nov. 2021 in fiscal year 2022 and 2023, said Merlinda Montgomery, airport manager. The next opportunity to apply could come in October or November, if that opportunity is extended, she said.
“Every airport is going for bipartisan infrastructure law funding,” Montgomery said.
Buttigieg has been touring airports this month, visiting spots in North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma last week to highlight federal investments supporting projects that will improve airfield safety at airports across the nation. Projects funded through the infrastructure law included redesigned taxiways that reduce runway intersections, improvements that are often unnoticed by passengers but are key to their safety, USDOT officials said.
Projects being funded balance between federal safety goals and improving the physical environment for passengers, Buttigieg said. While not committing to funding because there is a process to go through, he said Wednesday’s tour gives him “helpful context.”
“What we have in the infrastructure bill is more than we’ve ever had in my lifetime. There’s always more that you could do, but we’re doing as much as possible and make sure the dollars go where they needed, whether in the hub or local airport,” Buttigieg said.
Passenger traffic at Trenton-Mercer has been increasing. It’s up from 363,626 in 2017 to 404,349 in 2018 and 462,173 in 2019, FAA statistics show. Traffic fell to to 129,536 in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, but bounced back to 243,329 in 2021 and climbed to 328,139 last year, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. FAA forecasts predict passenger traffic to grow to 476,507 in 2035.
The effort to build a new terminal passed an important milestone last year when the Federal Aviation Administration issued a record of decision in February 2022, endorsing an Environmental Assessment for the terminal project, allowing it to move ahead. A cost estimate was not available.
An airport master plan said the existing 24,780 square foot terminal building has poor functional use, due to congestion in passenger flow during peak hours of activity. The terminal is in disrepair and does not meet current standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act and standards of the Transportation Security Administration.
Trenton Mercer did receive a $400,000 federal grant toward the cost to perform an environmental assessment of the project to move the control tower across the airfield, Montgomery said.
The terminal expansion has gotten pushback from Trenton Threatened Skies, a citizens group that opposes the terminal expansion project and argued to have the FAA require a full, more comprehensive Environmental Impact Study be conducted.
The group contends a larger terminal coupled with other expansion projects would increase air traffic, bringing more air and noise pollution to surrounding neighborhoods. It also challenged some of the county’s figures and growth assumptions in the terminal planning work.
“Over the years, we’re getting less of those calls because the county is doing their due diligence as related to sound issues,” Watson Coleman said. “We’ll never get to zero. We’re trying to please the majority.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected].
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