U.S. paying large share of C.R. airport project

CEDAR RAPIDS - The federal Transportation Security Administration is picking up the tab for 95 percent of the security portion of a new $4.4 million baggage-handling system at The Eastern Iowa Airport.

The total cost for the security-related portion of the checked bag inspection system is $3,070,789. The TSA, which is responsible for security at the nation's airports, has agreed to pay $2,917,250 and the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission will pay for the remaining $1,511,093.

The in-line baggage-handling system will remove the TSA's baggage screening process from the passenger terminal lobby where it was installed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The baggage screening, which will move to an enclosed area, will require remodeling of the passenger terminal.

The $7.2 million passenger terminal renovation, which began early this month, will include contruction of a 10,000-square-foot addition as well as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural and telecommunications upgrades. When the project is completed in the fall of 2012, passengers will check their baggage much as they did before 9/11.

Travelers will check their bag at the ticket counter and it will be carried by a moving conveyor belt to the screening machines.

The $7.2 million total project cost will come from the TSA,  passenger facility charge revenues collected from travelers using the airport and possibly a state grant. The Eastern Iowa Airport does not receive city or county property tax revenue.

The terminal remodeling and expansion is much more visible to passengers than last year's $46.8 million reconstruction of the airport's main runway and intersection with the secondary runway.

Airport Director Tim Bradshaw said the airport's customer service desk has been moved to a central location in the terminal lobby to provide information to travelers about the renovation project. Signs also have been erected to alert travelers to any temporary changes during the construction process.