Cellphone Lot
Construction is well underway on the new BTR cellphone lot adjacent to the end of Runway 4 Left (across from Texaco on Veterans Blvd). The cell phone lot will provide a convenient place for drivers to wait before picking up arriving passengers, reducing terminal-front congestion. The cellphone lot will also serve as a staging area for Uber and Lyft drivers waiting for pickup requests. Area residents may even enjoy using the cellphone lot as a viewing area to watch aircraft takeoff and land.
New Fixed Base Operation (FBO) Facilities
Construction of a new FBO, Williams Jet Center, has begun. It is located between the North T-Hangars and the Mosquito Abatement & Rodent Control facility off Veterans Blvd. The Williams Jet Center will provide new hangar space for corporate and GA aircraft, fueling services on the northwest side of the airport, and passenger and crew facilities. Additionally, Baton Rouge Jet Center will soon begin construction of their new, state-of-the-art FBO facility, which will include three new hangars.
Runway Safety Area & Runway Protection Zone for Runway 13-31
This project will establish a Runway Safety Area (RSA) and Runway Protection Zone (RZA) for Runway 13-31, one of BTR’s two primary runways. It will include the relocation of part of Plank Road at the end of Runway 31, allowing the development of a full 1000’ Runway Safety Area. This will eliminate the need for the current “displaced threshold” requiring aircraft to land farther down the runway, and result in the recovery of 314 feet of usable runway.
The end of Runway 31 currently has an Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS), which is a bed of lightweight, cellular cement materials designed to slow and safely stop an aircraft excursion. BTR’s Runway 13-31 was built before the current 1,000’ RSA standard was adopted, but the EMAS has been an approved alternative. However, the EMAS is expensive to maintain and must be replaced every 15 years. BTR has secured the funding to move forward with the project to install a permanent standard Runway Safety Area.
The design phase for the relocation of part of Plank Road is 90% complete. The second phase design, which includes the runway safety area recovery, is over 60% complete.
