Land, Sea and Air
Airport location
9 members have voted
To commemorate Isla Bonita's 3 million inhabitants, and attentive to the challenges that the island faces and can be expected to face, the Republic of Isla Bonita has passed landmark legislation committing the government to a massive infrastructure investment. The Land, Sea and Air Bill can be subdivided into the following:
Land
Following the advice of the Isla Enojada Geological Commission and the apparent dormancy of Enojada Hill, the State of Catastrophe on Isla Enojada bill has been repealed and the island has been opened for settlement.
Dry, volcanic and open for settlement
To provide easy connections between Isla Bonita and Isla Enojada, the government has started planning a road and high speed rail (HSR) bridge at the closest part between the islands. They're also planning on a new settlement on this area, tentatively called "Nueva Esperanza".
Unspoiled land, but not for long
Sea
As the Port of Anclaje reaches capacity, and as the manufacturing industry is booming in Isla Bonita --thanks to its well-educated population and decent infrastructure--, the Government of Isla Bonita has decided to build a new port in the Bahía Herradura area, to the west of the island.
Today it's farmland -- tomorrow, it'll be the new High-Tech industry pole
The area selected is behind the Cuerno de Águila peninsula, but enjoys good rail and road connections, including High Speed links nearby. It's swampy, flooded land that will require dredging to fully realise its potential -- but it could boost the local economy and the economy of the island as a whole.
Congress also voted on a Remediation Plan for Bahía Medusa, on the eastern side of the island, which would see some port facilities built there in lieu of the airport, to be closed down and moved elsewhere -- more on that in the following section.
Air
Perhaps the largest surprise in the bill is the resolution to decommission and shut down Bahía Medusa airport. The nearly 50 years old, two-terminal air field has seen better days, and while it remains Isla Bonita's gateway, its hampered by its dangerously short runway.
Hope you brought life saving jackets!
The Government of Isla Bonita is considering three options to replace the airport, to be determined by means of an island-wide plebiscite, as well as allowing consultations and votes from abroad. This City Journal will also include a poll for readers to fill.
The options are:
Option 1: South Bay airport
The first option has been to move the airport slightly to the southwest of its current location, within Anclaje and Bahía Medusa municipalities, right next to the coast.
Pros
- The airport would be located in a very convenient location, close to the downtowns of both cities.
- It would be built partly over the already-existing the Anclaje Air Base and Airport, and partly over reclaimed land, minimizing land use impacts.
- The transportation infrastructure is very varied and it's already in place: monorail, subway and tram lines already serve the Anclaje Airport and the surrounding area. There's also ferry connections available all over the bay.
- Anclaje and Bahía Medusa have expressed support for the idea, since it would give a boost to their stagnant, downtrodden economies. Anclaje, in particular, is close to bankruptcy.
Cons
- Noise concerns, already present with the current Bahía Medusa airport, would be amplified.
- The plan would require substantial expropriation and compensation to owners. Most of the La Isla neighbourhood in Anclaje would be levelled to make room for the runway, as would the Medusean Old Town and its peninsula area.
- There's environmental concerns that such massive land reclamation projects would devastate the local flora and fauna. In particular, there are some concerns about the water exchange in Bahía Medusa which need to be addressed.
- The Bahía Medusa cruise ship port would probably need a new entryway, though this would probably be solved by the Bahía Medusa Port project mentioned above.
- This project would keep development concentrated in the already-crowded South Bay basin.
Option 2: Ciudad del Arado airport
The western coast of Isla Bonita is home to a series of relatively small towns and a large, irrigated coastal plain. Ciudad del Arado is the northernmost of these towns (for now) and has plenty of space for an airport, extending into the currently-unorganized area soon to become Nueva Esperanza.
Pros
- The airport would be located further away from the South Bay area, about 10 kilometers --far enough to assuage noise concerns, but not too far that the airport is inconveniently located. It would also take a while for urban sprawl to reach it.
- Land prices are cheap in the area. The project would involve expropriating a few farms, but the runway could be extended into unincorporated territory, which is free to use. This project would also require little to no land reclamation and very little in the way of land preparation, insofar the land is exceptionally flat.
- The infrastructure around the area is actually very good: Highway 1 and the High Speed Rail line would flank the runway and could be very easily adapted or extended to serve an international terminal. A subway connection seems less likely, but it could happen in the future -- the closest rapid transit line runs some 5 kilometers from the area.
Cons
- The geography surrounding the area can be somewhat challenging, especially to the north, with some hilly terrain. It's also where Isla Enojada and Isla Bonita almost meet, an area known for occasional strong winds.
- There are some environmental concerns regarding the Arado wetlands, immediately to the south of the proposed area. Birds would need to be removed from this place.
- Aradoans seem to be against the airport, at least according to some informal polls, with some alleging that the airport "would impact" the agrarian, laidback environment of the town. Others have pointed out the economic boon that becoming the point of entry for all of Isla Bonita would imply, though.
Option 3: Isla Enojada
The airport would be somewhere around here
The third option available would be to build the new airport on the newly available land on Isla Enojada. There's some flat land on the eastern coast of the island, and it's an uninhabited place.
Pros
- There's plenty of empty land of little use, since the area is too dry for agriculture without irrigation. Building here would require no expropriation of any kind and the airport could be built as large as needed.
- There's some good distance from the main city, which would nullify noise complaints.
- The kind of investment an airport requires would kickstart settlement of the island.
- The desert climate of Isla Enojada ensures very few rain delays or cancellations.
Cons
- While there's plenty of empty, flat land, it might prove difficult to fit a 4 kilometer long runway without any interruptions or hills on the descent/ascent path.
- All infrastructure would need to be built from scratch. Even with a high-speed rail line, the airport would be some 20-30 kilometers from Anclaje, and much farther from other cities that would then require an interchange at the port town. The airport would also need water and power, none of which the island can currently provide.
- The eastern coast sits on the rain shadow of Enojada Hill and endures occasional föhn winds that would impact airplanes laterally.
- There would always be the looming threat of a volcano reactivation that shuts down the airport and leaves Isla Bonita and Enojada isolated from the world at large.
The new airport is to be financed by taking on public debt and by the contribution of Interior and Cuerno de Águila cities, of §2,000,000 each.
Finally, the Congress of Isla Bonita also discussed the possibility of a new subway line or splitting Line 1 to serve the newly-built lands over Cuerno de Águila and Finisterra, but the arguments had not ended by the time this article was sent to the press.
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