Aug. 18—BLOOMINGTON — The rehabilitation of Central Illinois Regional Airport's terminal roadway system will be the first of three major capital projects the transit hub has planned for the 2025 fiscal year.
Construction is expected to begin Monday and will be broken up into four phases over the next 12 weeks.
Those traveling to and from CIRA during this time should take extra precautions as traffic patterns on the roads entering and exiting the airport will continually change. Traffic control devices and flaggers will be on site to guide motorists.
Carl Olson, executive director of CIRA, said this is the first major rehabilitation of the roadway since it entered service in 2001. Although maintenance and repairs have been performed in-house over the years, heavy truck and traffic use has deteriorated the pavement to the point that a contractor must be brought in.
The project is estimated to cost about $4 million, which will be funded through a combination of Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority funds and Rebuild Illinois infrastructure grants.
During construction, there will be partial access to the front curb for passenger pick-up and drop-off, which could increase traffic in front of the terminal. CIRA recommends using the short-term parking lot for passenger pick-up and drop-off during this time.
General Aviation Facility
In June, the airport began work on the second phases of its General Aviation Facility project, which will include the construction of three hangars.
Olson said these three buildings, which are expected to accommodate 58 small aircraft, would replace existing structures that are almost 50 years old. Additional paving and final utility installation also are included in the second phase.
This would cost about $17 million, which would be covered by airport authority funds as well as federal and state airport improvement grants.
The first phase of this facility project wrapped in October 2023 and included the demolition of a former runway and taxiways, site grading, installation of underground utilities, construction of drainage and storm water management facilities, and topsoil placement, seeding and mulching.
As part of Phase II, PJ Hoerr Inc. was issued three permits on July 26 from the City of Bloomington for mercantile buildings on 3201 Cira Drive with a valuation of $5,388,100 apiece.
Olson said the project will not only have a positive economic impact by serving more aircraft owners who will be purchasing fuel and other items, but it will also strengthen the airport authority's ability to engage with young people.
"The airport and its partners introduce and attract aviation to young people, improve efforts to the STEM program and introduce aviation careers to young people," Olson said.
He noted the airport's partners, including the Experimental Aircraft Association, do most of the heavy lifting for this outreach.
Most of construction is expected to finish by the end of the calendar year, but transitioning to the new facilities may not begin until late spring or early summer 2025.
Megasite project
The airport's Megasite project is targeting 250 acres of property south of the airport and across from Ireland Grove Road for future development.
Olson said the property was purchased with federal funds to ensure any development is compatible with safe airport operations.
Because there isn't a dedicated use for the space, the airport authority is partnering with the City of Bloomington and the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council to establish a business park.
But before that happens, new water and sewer pipes have to be designed and built to make the site shovel ready. Development also must not interfere with electronic signals, disrupt wildlife or affect visibility.
"We, first and foremost, need to be a safe airport," Olson said.
The infrastructure work is estimated to cost between $3 million and $3.5 million, which would be covered by a combination of airport funds and grant funding through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Olson said the goal would be to break ground later this month and finish most of the work by the end of the year.
The Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority has programmed about $24 million for these three construction projects. The airport is also in the process of constructing three new hangars as part of its General Aviation Facility project and will begin water and sanitary infrastructure work on its Megasite project.
All three projects were awarded to local contractors, which are expected to employ more than 75 full-time laborers.
Contact Drew Zimmerman at 309-820-3276. Follow Drew on Twitter: @DZimmermanLee
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