The Daily Alaska Empire

3,800-Foot Long
Airfield Plan
Of CAA, Seward

Plans for the construction of a
3800-foot long airfield at Seward.
have been approved by the Civil
Aeronautics Administration, it is
announced by Tony Schwamm, the
director of aviation for the Terri-
tory of Alaska.
It is expected that bids will be
asked early in 1952 in order that
heavy clearing may be accomplished
while the frost is still in the ground,
Schwamm stated. The new Seward
airport is scheduled for completion
early in the summer of 1952 and will
be finished in the first stage with
a gravel surface.
The 3800-foot runway will enable
planes of the DC-3 type and larger
to fly into the main seaport con-
necting the railbelt of Alaska with
the water freight facilities.
Although the new runway is not
directly into the prevailing south-
east summer winds, Schwamm de-
clared, it will be headed into the
severe winter winds which come
from the north through Resurrec-
tion River canyon. The winter winds
are so severe that flying is impos-
sible for long periods of time.
The new location of the runway
can be extended to 4500 feet if
necessary for future development.
The new runway will have definite
strategic value. If the railroad con-
nections were ever disrupted. freight
and supplies could be moved to An-
chorage and other interior points of
the territory from the new field.
The Seward airport has been
planned for the past two years but
the acquisition of the property has
held up the project until the past
few months, Schwamm pointed out.
George Apostle, special assistant
attorney general for the territory,
did the abstracting of titles on the
property along with the negotiations
with the land owners.
Victor
C.
Rivers is the engineer on the pro-
ject.
The Seward airfield is the 24th
airport or seaplane float project ap-
proved, under construction or com-
pleted by the Department of Avia-
tion during the
past 26 months
when the department was estab-
lished under the Federal Airport
Act.