Federal dollars on the way for PIA’s new control tower

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Ahead of their meeting Wednesday, the board that oversees the Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport got further confirmation that money was coming to build a new control tower.

But the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria must also worry about underground mines in the area that could possibly lead to unstable ground where the control tower is slated to be built.

Gene Olson, the airport’s director, said the mine shaft that starts up near Farmington Road and Maxwell Road, isn’t exactly under the location of the new control tower but it’s in a draw area.

A draw area, he said, is where if a mine shaft were to fail, the subsequent collapse could “draw in” adjacent surface features. It’s not something you want to happen when spending some $30 million to build a new control tower.

Olson said the idea is to find the empty rooms and shafts left from when the mining operations stopped in the 1920s and fill them in with a cement-like material. Displaced water, which has filled some of the areas and has leeched chemicals from the ground, will be treated before it is released, he said.

Already, the airport has gotten about $16 million in federal dollars for the project. U.S. Rep. Eric Sorenson announced the release of $14 million more from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The money wasn’t unexpected but the Rockford Democrat’s announcement means dollars should be flowing soon. And that’s just in time for the Wednesday meeting where the airport authority will vote on whether to approve a roughly $12 million construction contract and some changes to the mining mitigation plans which had been previously approved.

The existing tower has been in operation since 1959. The new tower will meet updated FAA standards and Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. 

“It will allow the airport to operate more efficiently and effectively, while also making the flying experience safer for passengers. I am excited that families and businesses across Central Illinois will benefit from more modern operations,” the congressman said.