Gary / Chicago International Airport Awards $15 Million Contract for Construction of Cargo and General Aviation Ramp

The Gary / Chicago International Airport (GCIA) has awarded Superior Construction Co. a $15 million bid to construct the airport’s new Cargo and General Aviation Ramp. This new infrastructure will take approximately five (5) months to complete and occupy 8.5 acres of concrete ramp over a 50-acre site. This contract represents the largest awarded by the airport since the 2015 expansion of the airport’s main runway and will enable 85 well-paying construction jobs for the duration of its buildout. This bid represents another significant milestone in GCIA’s cargo service expansion efforts for 2025, following its $925,000 property acquisition of 4.7 acres of land that was announced in April of this year. 2025 marks the second consecutive year of substantial evolution of GCIA’s growing cargo sector, following the airport’s 2024 announcement of Phase 1 of its long-term expansion of their cargo logistics sector.

 

“This bid is a significant step forward in the evolution of our increasingly important cargo and logistics sector, which has seen tremendous growth since it first launched less than 5 years ago,” said Dan Vicari, Executive Director of GCIA. “The contract will not only enable future aviation operation expansion but will further the airport’s mission of being an economic engine for Northwest Indiana and support working families throughout the area.”

 

GCIA has seen extensive growth since 2015, starting with the expansion of the airport’s main runway to nearly 9,000 feet, making it the second longest runway in the region after O’Hare International Airport. This expansion has allowed the airport to service larger, heavier aircraft. GCIA opened its U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in 2018, allowing air travelers from any international destination to frequent the airport without needing to clear customs elsewhere.

 

In 2020, GCIA began cargo service operations via UPS, who signed a long-term lease agreement. Cargo service operations have quickly scaled, and GCIA now ranks 3rd in the State of Indiana for its freight volume, with further growth anticipated in coming years.  In 2022, GCIA received formal Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approvals for its Master Plan, a long-term planning document that will guide the next several decades of airport aviation and growth. In late 2023, GCIA announced its acquisition of the Griffith-Merrillville Airport, making GCIA one of only three aviation "systems" in the State of Indiana. 

 

2024 saw multiple milestones reached, including unveiling its new website, breaking ground on a new $12 million, 47,000 square foot aviation hangar as well as breaking ground on “Phase 1” of a planned $67 million cargo services infrastructure investment that will boost its growing cargo sector. This effort coincided with the airport agreeing to a long-term extension with UPS, further enlarging the airports cargo capacity. The year also saw the airport awarded a $1.7 million Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant to design and engineer a new, state-of-the-art airport traffic control tower.

 

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