Springfield Airport Gets Last Bit of Funding to Complete Phase 2 of Runway Project

Sep. 25—Springfield's airport is one step closer to having one less runway.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced it is allocating the last bit of money to complete Phase 2 of the yearslong runway removal project at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.

SPI executive director Mark Hanna said the project is a result of "it being very difficult to justify" the FAA funding the upkeep of a third runway at the airport. Removing the runway now ensures the removal will be paid for with federal dollars, Hanna said.

The north-south 1836 runway set to be removed is generally used for high-speed exits, Hanna said. He noted other central Illinois airports have had excess runways removed in recent years.

"We're hopefully able to kick off both phases concurrently next spring with the same contractor," Hanna said, "so it's really going to be a flurry of activity next year as both projects are underway. ... The geometry changes at the airfield are really going to modernize the design of the airfield as well."

Other airports faced with a similar dilemma partially removed an excess runway, Hanna said, but SPI is opting to remove the entire thing to open up more land for future developments.

"This has been a targeted project with the FAA for a number of years and now they have finally been able to commit the dollars to see the project through and to get it done to its completion," Hanna said.

The first two phases will primarily deal with the removal of the airport's third runway, Hanna said. Close to $13 million is already appropriated for the project, which is similar to other ones completed at other central Illinois airports, he said.

A bid for construction on Phase 1 has already been awarded to Tremont-based United Contractors Midwest Inc., Hanna said, and engineering is being completed by Springfield's Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc. for the project.

Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Illinois Democrats, announced the FAA funding in a news release published Friday. The last bit needed to complete Phase 2 totaled $438,853.

" Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is an important economic engine for our state and Sangamon County, and making sure it has federal support to improve its infrastructure is critical," Duckworth said.

"Investing in our regional airports is a down payment on the long-term economic success of the region. Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is critical to our state's transit system and Springfield's economy," Durbin said.

The impending runway removal is a part of the FAA's runway incursion mitigation program. The main motivation of that program and the removal of SPI's runway is safety concerns, Hanna said.

Contact Riley Eubanks: [email protected], twitter.com/@rileyeubanks

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