It has been a long flight, but Crawfordsville Municipal Airport finally made its smooth landing. The airport announced Thursday it received a $2,413,813.55 grant from the Federal Aviation Association to expand its runway 1,000 feet.
The grant covers 90 percent of the cost to expand the runway in an effort to bring more industry to Crawfordsville. The airport and state each will contribute approximately $120,000 as well.
“This means industry will continue to be here,” airport manager Bill Cramer said. “It also means industry we don’t have will possibly come here now. CEOs want to land where they own an industry or purchase an industry. We will soon have everything in place to have more of them land here.”
Plans to expand the airport have been under way over the past five years. Myra Dunn-Abbott, treasurer of the local Aviation Board, led the drive for the runway expansion.
“You have to have a lot of components in place to utilize a 5,500-foot runway,” Dunn-Abbott said. “This is the final step in transforming our airport.”
Dunn-Abbott said building the airport’s new terminal was the cornerstone of the airport’s evolution. Since then, the airport has installed an automated weather observation system, an instrument approach system, advanced lighting, a concrete apron and a new runway surface.
Such additions have enabled to airport to bring in 40 corporate jets. The extended runway will expand that total to 50.
“All those things come together when we expand the runway,” Dunn-Abbott said. “We need it in order for corporate jets to land safely at Crawfordsville.”
In addition to enabling more aircrafts to land in Crawfordsville, the longer runway will open more economic opportunities. It will contribute more fuel sales and the development of more hangers. It also ensures revenue the airport receives is here to stay.
“As we work through economic development, it’s so important we have the airport as an asset,” Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton said. “We need the proper runway length to bring more businesses into our community. We have to have a strong presence when businesses come here. This is one piece of that puzzle.”
Congressman Todd Rokita and a representative of Senator Joe Donnelly were present to commend local leadership and the airport. Rokita’s office supported the airport’s push for expansion after a visit.
“We immediately saw how organized everyone was,” Rokita said. “The least we could do was get on the phone and start calling.
“We all had our heart in this because we know how important it is for economic development.”
The airport has already established its economic development value over the years. An economic impact study conducted by the Indiana Department of Transportation, Aviation Association of Indiana and Conexus Indiana in 2012 estimated the airport has an annual economic impact of $80 million. That ranked the airport seventh out of 32 local airports in terms of economic impact. Expanding the runway will only improve those statistics, Cramer said.