Eastern Iowa Airport parking lot stairs set for redo

After 29 years of assault from salt each winter, the concrete stairs leading from the public parking lot to the passenger terminal at The Eastern Iowa Airport need to be replaced.

The Cedar Rapids Airport Commission on Monday awarded a $372,200 contract to Calacci Construction Company Inc. of Iowa City to replace and upgrade the two sets of stairways.

The western set of stairs has been closed due to the deteriorated condition of the structure. Heather Wilson, director of marketing and communication at The Eastern Iowa Airport, said the new stairways will include several changes and upgrades.

'A warming loop will be part of the construction, which will melt the ice and snow. That should eliminate the need to load them up with salt,” Wilson said. 'There also is some retaining wall repair that will need to be done.”

Eric Scott of Foth Infrastructure & Environment in Cedar Rapids said the work will begin in June.

'We will need to tear out the west stairs first to install the lines for the snow melt system,” Scott said. 'After those stairs are completed, we will tear out and replace the east stairs.”

The commission also approved submitting an application to the Iowa Department of Transportation Office of Aviation, for grants to provide partial funding for two upcoming projects.

The airport is seeking $450,000 from IDOT for 5 percent of the cost of an $8 million expansion of the B concourse holding room in the passenger terminal. The project will add a second level to the B concourse.

The local share of the funding will be $4.1 million or 51 percent of the total cost. The Federal Aviation Administration will provide the remaining 44 percent or $3.5 million.

The airport also is seeking grant funding from IDOT for construction of new taxiway and apron. The $300,000 project will be funded with $255,000 from the state and $45,000 of airport capital improvement money.