Work on extending and widening the airport runway probably won’t happen this fall, said Cook County Airport Manager Rod Roy.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the low bid by Northland Constructors as recommended by consultants Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc. for $1,468,200. The board’s decision came at the county board’s October 14 meeting.
It was hoped that Northland could begin work this fall, but, said Roy, “We haven’t gotten final approval from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service yet. All of the work has been done with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT). We’re just waiting for them to give us the go ahead.”
Northland will widen and extend the runway and will complete phase 1 grading at the airport. Northland has met the contract requirements (bonds, insurance etc.) and MnDOT and the FAA, which are covering 95 percent of the cost, have approved funding.
The 5 percent local cost of $109,088.30 was paid to the airport previously by the highway department as right of way expense for road construction through federal property. Northland Constructors must complete the work by July 1, 2015.
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