Groundbreaking ceremony takes place at airport expansion

FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Fla. (WSVN) -- The expansion project at a South Florida airport took off with a groundbreaking ceremony, Monday.

Broward County Mayor John Rodstrom broke ground on the South Runway Expansion project at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The $790 million project is planned for completion over the next few years and is expected to create 11,000 jobs. The runway will be extended an additional 8,000 feet, which will allow for larger aircraft to land.

The expansion has been years in the making, as residents living near the airport had put up a fight, concerned over the noise of planes landing nearer to their homes. A settlement was reached only last year.

Mayor Rodstrom said, "A lot of airports would've gone in and just bought all the homes and taken them out and put in warehouses or whatever for aviation use, we didn't do that. So, we've gone in and we're gonna sound proof all the homes, give them new air-conditioning, new impact glass and seal the houses so at least they won't have the airport noise inside their homes. Once the airport opens, we'll have a program that will assist them if they decide it's too much noise, or they don't like the quality of life. We'll assist them and find them another place to live."

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood also attended the groundbreaking ceremony. He said, "This is a big deal because of the jobs. This area, but certainly Florida can use jobs, and that's what this project is all about. It's not only about extending the runway, which obviously will be an economic boom to the airport, but the jobs that are provided here are extraordinary."

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