In an act reminiscent of the grand regrades that shaped Seattle in the early 20th century, Carson City is in the process of removing an entire mountain. Except Carson’s project is taking place on a slightly smaller scale, and it isn’t happening right in the middle of downtown. All that’s happening is they’re removing the small hill next door to the Carson City airport. Now why they built the airport next to a hill in the first place is a mystery, but that hill has been quite the headache lately. When the wind blows it causes eddies of turbulence around the runways that can be hazardous to pilots. Also the runway has been squeezed in between the hill and a neighboring housing development, and a couple of planes have come down in backyards under the approach path. So now with the hill gone, they’re able to realign the runway and get it away from the houses.
The project also involves flattening out some of the lumpy topography around the airport and filling in low areas, so the airport should end up being pretty level when the whole thing is finished.
