Creston airport talks possible projects

The Creston Airport Commission met on Monday to discuss current and future airport projects. Airport manager Brian West and a representative from the engineering firm used by the airport, Bolton & Merk, discussed the current runway project that’s going on, including the progress with it and the timeline to get it completed.

“The runway project is the removal of the asphalt runway and replaced with a new concrete runway and the entrance road project, which is fencing/gate installation and drainage ditch improvement,” West said.

The runway is 4,001-feet by 75-feet and will have six inches of concrete on top subgrade, totaling an additional 18 inches to the runway. The work is being completed by Cedar Valley Corp., LLC. Their bid of $4,014,594 is completely covered by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which awarded $4,399,480 to the airport in May 2022.

Both the runway project and the entrance road project are on track to be completed May 21.

The airport recently shared their five-year plan and long-term goals with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This includes updating the Terminal Area Plan, cleaning up the space around the runway, adding a new general aviation terminal and preparing for an additional parallel taxiway. The estimated total cost for these projects is about $2.2 million, with about 12% of that coming from local funding.

Possible long-range projects include constructing a new hangar, constructing the additional parallel taxiway and extending runways.