Some residents in the south metro area were bracing for more noise, with the planned opening of a new runway at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The runway, which runs north-south, was expected to open Thursday morning. While the Metropolitan Airports Commission praised the new runway and the increased traffic it will allow, those living under the new flight paths weren't looking forward to the increased noise.

"A neighbor I work with is calling (it) D-Day," said Burnsville resident Ken Kosciolek, 40. "Everyone is quite concerned here. I'm hoping that it won't be too bad, but I'm worried it will be."

The new runway will increase the airport's flight capacity by 25 percent, handling a total of about 300 daily departures and 132 arrivals, the MAC estimated. Residents in Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville, Rosemount, Richmond and Bloomington may be affected.

"Clearly, there will be a change in people's lives," said Vicki Tigwell, chairwoman of the MAC, which owns and operates the airport. "Having a busier hub translates into more planes, more planes translates to more noise. But the economic impact is dramatic."

Tigwell predicted the newly affected residents won't experience the "pounding" noise levels the city of Minneapolis has seen because they live farther away from the runway and aircraft will be at higher altitudes.

Curtis Aljets, of south-central Eagan, lives between two of the new flight paths. Aljets, 59, is a member of the city's Airport Relation Commission and has been working to educate residents and learn more about the noise impact.

"Obviously, the noise is not going to improve our quality of life," he said. "But overall, the airport is good for Eagan's economy. It's good for the metropolitan economy."

The runway's opening comes as the MAC fights a lawsuit with the cities of Minneapolis, Eagan and Richfield. The cities claim the commission is not providing noise mitigation to as many homes as it originally promised. On Wednesday, Bloomington also filed a lawsuit of its own against the MAC.

The new runway may bring relief to some residents in south Minneapolis: 99 percent of flights now use the two parallel runways aimed at it.


(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)