Spokane International Airport has begun updating its master plan, a guiding document that covers such topics as a third runway, terminal and parking improvements, and further development on airport land, says airport spokesman Todd Woodard.

The Spokane Airport Board has hired Mead & Hunt Inc., a Madison, Wis.-based design and consulting firm, to head the update under an $800,000 contract, Woodard says. The SIA last updated its master plan in 2003. That plan looked ahead 20 years, while this one will look 30 years into the future, he says.

"It's a guide based on what we anticipate based on all of the external factors, and a huge part of this is the aviation forecast," Woodard says. "We look at air cargo, fleet mixes, passengers, and the types of planes we will have. There are a lot of things we consider."

Woodard says that one of the most critical documents to be updated in the master plan is what's called an airport layout plan, or ALP, which shows where new buildings or additions to the airport's facilities can be constructed.

"The ALP is a very technical document," he says. "It is a map of everywhere around the airport and places where we can grow."

Woodard says the update is to be completed by Sept. 15, 2011. Then, the document will go to the Federal Aviation Administration for approval before work on any of the projects outlined in the plan could begin. The master plan also must be approved by Spokane County, the cities of Spokane and Airway Heights.

Another portion of the plan contains data collected on weather patterns, aviation growth forecasts, environmental concerns, and an inventory of SIA's financial and real estate assets.

An advisory committee of SIA stakeholders, including major airline and cargo carriers, as well as local government officials and the Washington state departments of Ecology and Transportation, also will contribute to the plan, he says.

"They look at where we see changes and how do we need to adapt this infrastructure for the master plan," he says.

Woodard says he doesn't foresee significant changes in the updated plan from what was outlined in 2003.

That plan update called for improvements at the main terminal, including an $18 million project completed in 2007, which added 18 restaurants and commercial vendors to the terminal, he says.

"We don't see any huge changes from what was suggested in 2003 when the terminal design was laid out for 20 years," he says, but adds that doesn't mean SIA won't work on improving its plans for terminal expansion in the next 30 years.

Woodard adds that the master plan is more of a scenario guide, because it is unknown how the future of aviation ultimately will affect the airport.

"Mostly, we are looking at where we need to be positioned with facilities to accommodate how aviation has changed since the last time we looked at it in 2003," he says.

The master plan also will address community discussion of a light-rail system that could provide service to the airport.

In addition to the terminal upgrades, another major project included in the 2003 plan that since has come to fruition is the recent lengthening of the airport's main runway.

In January, the airport also will begin work on a new strategic development plan, which will focus on specific targets of business growth at the airport, such as how to attract business to the area surrounding the airport and how to get more passenger or cargo carriers to come to Spokane, Woodard says.

"The strategic plan is separate but complementary to the master plan," he says. "We are working really hard to attract and grow the airfield and the aerospace cluster at SIA."

He says the strategic plan also is expected to be completed in September 2011. While the master plan update is funded by the FAA, the airport funds its own strategic plan.