As data centers dominate city discussions about potential projects within Marshalltown, a different project is moving forward.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a primary go letter, opening the door to start preliminary engineering on the rehabilitation of the primary runway at the Marshalltown Airport.
Public Works Director Heather Thomas said the city received the letter on Oct. 14. She told the Marshalltown City Council at the Oct. 26 meeting that they received the letter shortly before data center conversations began. Therefore, city staff could not address it before data center ordinances discussions began.
“Because of how the FAA timeline rolls into it, if we delayed this item to wait until after the ordinance passed, we would be delaying the project over a year, and also potentially compromising 90 percent of the grant funding,” Thomas said.
The FAA has agreed to pay for 90 percent of the preliminary engineering cost of $250,000. After the council meeting, Thomas told the T-R the city would have to pay the remaining 10 percent, or $25,000.
Fortunately, the FAA’s preliminary engineering funding agreement opens the door to the federal agency covering 90 percent of the total runway rehabilitation cost, which is roughly estimated at $10 million.
“We have been working since 2023 on outside funding,” Thomas said. “. . . We are positioning ourselves to get that 90 percent funding for the construction cost. Once we’re through preliminary engineering, we feel we are highly ranked in receiving that 90 percent, but we have not been awarded the funds yet.”
Thomas believes if construction funding is approved, the project could begin in 2028 which would be the best case scenario. However, the Marshalltown Airport will have to see how the FAA is funded during the next two years, and how the agency makes its allocations. Not only is more time necessary, but acquiring airport funding is incredibly competitive.
“The funds are not free. They are taxpayer dollars, but if the Marshalltown Airport does not go after it, other airports will get it,” she said. “We have been working on recommendations of the FAA and the DOT [Department of Transportation] to better position ourselves to a point of getting the funding. They are feeling comfortable enough to agree to fund preliminary engineering, which is a good indication they are progressing to pay for construction.”
Some of the recommendations the Marshalltown Airport met was completing the Master Plan and saving enough of the “entitlement funds” to pay for projects, such as the new $3.7 million hangar and terminal in 2023. Thomas said they also justified flights, showed the economic benefit of the airport to the community of Marshalltown and justified the length and width of the runway to show the FAA that investing in the project is an important part of the air traffic in the United States.
If all of the cards fall into place, the project will repair the runway asphalt which is at the end of its life.
“The first time the runway was paved, it was a 2-inch layer and has been built up over time,” Thomas said. “The rehabilitation project is looking at full depth patching of joint areas. . . . The current runway was built in 1964, and some asphalt work was done in 2005.”
There will also be milling and overlay, similar to recent 70 blocks of streetwork.
Adam Thompson with McClure Engineering told the council during the Oct. 26 meeting they are close to submitting the project for final review from the FAA.
Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.