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The top elected officials of Hilton Head Island and Beaufort County have agreed on a direction for potential airport expansion.
At a joint meeting of the town and county councils in July, the two bodies endorsed a proposal that came out of the airport’s master plan process calling for expanding the runway to 5,400 feet from the current 4,300 feet. But the councils also asked the consultant to look at the possibility of expanding the airport to 4,600 feet, town manager Steve Riley said.
A final master plan is still several months away, and any actual changes to the site won’t happen for years, Riley said. The councils endorsed that plan, because it allows for the airport to grow to accommodate larger jets without having too great an impact on the surrounding neighborhood, Riley said.
Consultants Talbert & Bright have been working on the plan for two years and produced recommendations earlier this year. The town is still bracing to sell the plan to the public down the road.
“Those are battles for another day,” Riley said.
