The Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority has awarded a $7.9 million contract for a runway rehabilitation project that will rebuild more than 4,000 feet of the main runway, NWI.com reports.
Superior Construction won the contract. The Federal Aviation Administration is paying the bulk of the costs (90 percent), with the state and airport contributing the remaining five per cent each.
“It’s a big project. We’ve been waiting on this for some time,” airport engineering consultant Ken Ross was quoted as saying.
The work includes replacing the current asphalt service with concrete and relates to more than half of the pre-expansion main runway. The runway had been expanded in 2015. Another approximately 3,000 ft. of the overall 8,859 ft. runway will be rehabilitated next year.
“They’re going to be pulling down some long nights and putting down a lot of concrete,” Ross said.
The airport board approved eight contracts for work on the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol facility scheduled to open in early summer totalling nearly $546,000. They include work on framing and drywall, carpentry, painting, flooring, exterior wall cladding, electrical work and “storefront” construction. The board previously approved contracts for roofing, concrete, exterior carpentry, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
