.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} The Des Moines International Airport is one piece of property closer to its new runway. On Dec. 27, the city of Des Moines acquired a vacant parcel of real estate near the airport for at least $1,395,000, after the City Council granted approval on Dec. 17. The property, previously owned by Dodge Investment Co. Inc., is located on the northwest corner of Southwest 42nd Street and Army Post Road.

The acquisition is part of the master plan to bring the airport’s total runways back up to three, after the building of Runway 5-23 closed another runway several years ago. As of November, the airport had acquired 21 of the required 22 residential properties and six of the required 11 unimproved properties. Adding Runway 13R/31L will increase the margin of safety (air traffic control will be able to separate large commercial planes from smaller planes) and allow multiple aircraft to land or take off at the same time on different runways.

The airport has been acquiring property using funds from the Federal Aviation Administration on a 95-5 basis; the FAA pays 95 percent and the airport provides 5 percent of the purchase price. Each year the airport gets entitlement dollars, based on the number of passengers flying out, and has also received discretionary dollar amounts while preparing to build Runway 13R/31L.

A letter of intent is being written to secure a long-term commitment from the FAA of funding for the remaining properties and runway replacement, creating a better timeline and budget for the project. Once the properties have been acquired, the Des Moines International Airport will enter a multi-year construction phase of building the new runway.