Deere hangar plans move ahead
The Rock Island County Metropolitan Airport Authority approved two measures Tuesday that pave the way for construction of a new hangar at the Quad-City International Airport.
The airport authority approved a bid for site preparations of the proposed site of a new Deere & Co. hangar. In addition, it approved a contract for relocating a piece of weather equipment that sits on the site.
Moline-based Deere first announced in January that it plans to build a new hangar at the airport. The cost and size have not been disclosed.
In action Tuesday, the airport authority approved a contract with Valley Construction Co. for site preparation, which will include installation of a new water main and sanitary pumping station as well as site grading. Valley Construction, Rock Island, had the low bid of $858,830.
The airport authority also approved hiring Kajun Trey Service of Ponchatoula, La., to relocate the airport’s Automated Surface Observation System, or ASOS. The company offered the low bid of $18,500.
Despite the approvals, Harvey Levin, the airport’s attorney, said none of the work will begin until the airport has a signed lease from Deere. He added that the site preparation bid will expire July 1.
The ASOS will be located adjacent to the airport’s existing instrument landing system, according to Mike Haney, the airport’s operations director. He said the ASOS feeds weather data to the control tower as well as to the pilots. It measures visibility, precipitation, temperature, wind speed and direction, and ceiling (cloud height).
The airport authority also approved a lease with Mesaba Airlines for the rental of one of the airport’s cargo buildings. The airline will occupy 3,200 square feet for its new line maintenance facility, providing routine maintenance on Mesaba’s regional jet aircraft.
Airport officials said the airline already has moved into the space. However, operations are not expected to begin until June 5.
Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.