Oct. 25--CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Concrete pillars rising in the parking lot of The Eastern Iowa Airport and along roads leading to it are not intended to be a replica of Stonehenge in England.
The parking lot pillars will support the roof of a covered walkway connecting the passenger terminal with the short- and long-term parking areas. The walkway is scheduled for completion in January.
Tricon General Construction of Dubuque in July was awarded a $3.2 million contract by the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission to build the walkway and a new parking lot revenue building. The contract amount exceeded a March estimate of projected costs by 8 percent, but is 5 percent less than an updated estimate in June.
The parking lot revenue building was combined with the covered walkway project after the commission rejected earlier bids when they exceeded an engineer's estimate for the project.
Airport Director Dan Mann said the new walkway will shelter passengers from the weather as well as provide a visual cue for motorists leaving the parking lot.
"It will funnel people to what we call 'the collector' on the lower level of the terminal," Mann said. "We see a lot of people walking up the stairs and crossing the terminal drive. This will provide the best route for people in the parking lot as well as indicating where the exit roadway is located."
The concrete and steel pillars that support the walkway roof will be covered with limestone to blend them with other structures at the airport, including the new parking lot revenue building and a planned airport police, fire and rescue building.
A parallel project, the concrete "wings" rising along Wright Brothers Boulevard and Edgewood Road SW, will display new signs beginning next month.
The airport commission in July awarded a $395,586 contract to ASI Modulex of Grinnell for the new signs.
The contract amount is 43.8 percent below the $703,000 projected cost for the project.
Mann said the signs will follow the same design theme as the airport's main entrance sign at Arthur Collins Boulevard and Wright Brothers Boulevard.
The poured concrete pillars also will have a limestone appearance and will be illuminated to make them easier to view.
They will replace standard green highway directional signs erected along Wright Brothers Boulevard after it was relocated several years ago to accommodate an extension of the airport's secondary runway.
Installation of the new signs is expected to begin next month, with completion scheduled for December.
The airport commission on Monday scheduled a Dec. 12 public hearing for the $5 million public safety building that will house rescue and fire fighting personnel and equipment as well as local operations of the Federal Aviation Administration.
"We will approve plans and specifications at the meeting as well as open bids for the project," Mann said. "We still plan to start construction early next spring, and we hope to move into the building in late October."
To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazetteonline.com. Copyright (c) 2007, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
