CLEVELAND, Tenn. – City airport construction is transitioning from environmental issues to site preparation.
Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority members learned Friday that phase one, which included moving a creek, will likely be completed in two weeks. The work appears to be coming in at about $500,000 under the $6.6 million contract with Wright Bros. Construction.
“What we have done up until now is get ready to build an airport. Now we can begin to build the airport,” said Ron Fitzgerald, with project engineers PDC Consultants.
Fitzgerald said that, with state and federal environmental agencies’ approval, the new creek bed could be tested soon.
“In a couple of weeks, we could have a creek flowing in a new location,” he said.
Also Friday, authority members approved Chairwoman Lynn DeVault’s signing of the phase two contract with Wright Bros. Eliminating stopping and starting between the phases will save time, De Vault said.
“We may be at the end of phase two before the money is available for phase three,” she said.
With Fortune 500 companies already here or looking at the community, creature comforts also will be important to attract the companies and their pilots, she said.
The authority was shown photos of the new Tullahoma Regional Airport, including a lobby area with aviation art and plush furniture.
Fitzgerald said the consultants will have a clearer idea by mid-December of the timeline for moving hangars and airplanes from Hardwick Field to the new airport.
Members plan to hold a work session after the Dec. 17 authority meeting to discuss timing for the move, although it is more than a year away.
“Let’s not forget our goal to get the airport up and running,” said LeRoy Rymer Jr., a member of the authority, “The main thing is operations.”