An expansion of Carroll County Regional Airport is in take-off mode after the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday approved plans to move to the next phase.

The county will start to acquire land and apply for environmental permits to extend the airport's runway. The commissioners approved the measure 2-1, with Commissioners Julia Gouge and Deam Minnich voting in favor and Commissioner Michael Zimmer opposed.

Officials said a federal Environmental Assessment released earlier this year found no significant impact would occur if the airport expands. The runway expansion would meet Federal Aviation Administration's recommendations for handling certain aircraft and aim to improve safety, said officials.

According to county officials, the separation between the existing runway and taxiway does not meet the Federal Aviation Administration requirement for future design aircraft. The requirement is a 400-foot separation; the airport's separation is 300 feet.

The FAA recommended length for runways at airports such as Carroll is more than 6,000 feet, while the current runway is 5,100 feet long.

The project is expected to cost $72.08 million, which includes the cost to purchase approximately 100 acres of neighboring property. The Federal Aviation Administration will pay for 95 percent, or $68.48 million, funded by airline user fees.

The Maryland Aviation Administration and Carroll County Government will each pay $1.8 million toward the project.

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