| The airport, as the interface between advancing aviation technology and the surrounding community has been faced with the difficult task of anticipating technological change and then using available resources to meet the associated problems. By the 1940's the crude, primitive airfields of an earlier era had evolved into complex, sophisticated institutions that not only served as the processors of aircraft, passengers, and cargo, but also were terminals for ground transportation, recreational and entertainment centers, facilities for government activities associated with aviation, and focal points for industrialization.;From 1925 to 1974, the introduction of each new generation of aircraft, represented by the DC-3, the DC-4, and the Boeing 707, brought about substantial modifications to Lambert Field's runways, terminal and maintenance facilities, navigational aids, supporting equipment, and operating procedures. The introduction of larger models of piston aircraft outmoded runway lengths, runway thicknesses, terminal capacity, and hangar size. The greatest transformation at Lambert Field, however, came when jet aircraft were put into service during the late 1950's. Passenger and aircraft movements increased dramatically, overcrowding the terminal and congesting the airways. Such conditions led to mechanization of baggage and freight handling, computerization of air traffic control, increased sophistication of Instrument Landing Systems, and expensive facilities expansion programs. Moreover, the turbined powered aircraft caused increased noise and required different fueling techniques, wider taxiways, and smoother runways.;Over the years, St. Louis has responded with varying degrees of success to the challenge of technological change. Although the runway system, navigational aids, and control techniques kept pace with innovations in aircraft design, the city did not build adequate freight and maintenance facilities until the 1950's. Further, consistently low passenger predictions caused the airport's terminals to be overcrowded for nearly 40 years. These deficiencies were brought about by a lack of planning with regard to the initial location of the airfield in the 1920's, the limitations of finances, the inability to project the impact of technology upon passenger growth, the fragmentation of responsibility for airport operations within the city's administrative structure, jurisdictional problems between the city and the county, and the conservative temper of the city. |
