As the city of Oulu prepares for its forthcoming merger with outlying municipalities, one party to the merger, Oulunsalo, hopes to broach the subject of an alternate road route to the airport. Presently Lentokentäntie Road is the umbilical cord for airline travelers, as well as Oulunsalo commuters and residents. As a result, the road is increasingly bogged down with traffic.
Lentokentäntie is also the main thoroughfare in Oulunsalo, another reason why the municipality would like to see an alternative route in the future. The master zoning plan for the Oulu area does indeed already have a reservation clause for an airport road connection that would detour south, avoiding downtown Oulunsalo.
“However, the new road solution and any other grand plans are still in the design phase and wouldn’t be ready for some time,“ says Risto Leppänen, the head zoning planner at the North Ostrobothnia ELY Center.
There has also been talk about trying to lure a hotel to a site near the airport, if a willing candidate can be found.
At the turn of the 21st century, IT firms began erecting large glass-facade office buildings near the airport. In the immediate surroundings of the airport there is over 110000 square meters of permitted building space reserved for the purposes of industry and commerce.
