GARY | Only 280 feet of runway are left to complete the 8,900-foot main runway at Gary/Chicago International Airport. And despite the rain, everything’s currently on target for the Federal Aviation Administration to allow planes to land and take off on that long-awaited runway by June 25, according to the newly elected interim airport director.
Project Manager Dan Vicari stepped into his new role immediately after the airport authority board selected him at Monday’s meeting. He replaces former airport Director B.R. Lane, who resigned to become Illinois Lottery chief.
Crews from Gary-based Rieth-Riley Construction Co. will work 24-7 to complete a series of projects related to the airport expansion, Vicari told the board, whose members approved millions of dollars in contract modifications, change orders and draws from the escrow account held by Chicago Title.
“The taxi ways are not as complete as the runway, but will be with the 24-7 operation by Rieth-Riley,” he said.
The contract modifications and change orders for Rieth-Riley included $115,000 to make changes to the airport’s security system. A new security gate at the western end of Chicago Avenue with access to the National Guard facility is being installed that will require proper identification to enter. In addition, all the airport security gates will be programmed to match, Vicari said.
Airport officials also received the green light from the EPA to stockpile clay needed to replace portions of the contaminated Conservation Chemical property not covered by the concrete of the runway extension, he said. The clay protects humans and wildlife from the hazardous chemicals that were dug out of that site down to the water table, he said.
“We expect final approval from the EPA (on that capping) to meet the June 25 deadline,” Vicari said.
Brandenberg Service Co. crews are the only ones allowed to work in the contaminated areas and will also expedite the capping of the contaminated site. That work should be completed within two to three weeks, possibly longer if it continues to rain, Vicari told the board.
New aviation equipment installed at the end of the new runway extension must also be tested before planes can land on the new portion of the runway, he said.
When the airport expansion project began in 2006, airport officials estimated it could be completed by 2010. The projected cost was about $90 million. That price tag surged at regular intervals over the years, until it reached the current price tag of $174.1 million last year.
Also at Monday's meeting, Airport Manager Delbert Brown, of Avports, told the airport authority that revenue now exceeds expenses at the airport. “There was a big 43 percent jump in traffic,” Brown said.
Airport officials will meet with six airlines at the Jump Start conference in Seattle, Brown told the board. “It’s like speed-dating with airlines. The goal is to make a second meeting at headquarters.”
Brown also reported the airport has made connections with the Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., to provide “a gateway to Reagan from Northwest Indiana.”
Another connection airport officials have made is with Ivy Tech Community College in Gary for workforce training and developing students for aviation careers, he said.
In other business, Brown said the Gary airport will test its disaster plan from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. June 7.
“We are also planning out our part in the Gary Air Show, which will be July 11 and 12,” Brown said. “We are looking forward to that.”