By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph is set to receive nearly two million dollars from the Federal Aviation Administration to replace the aging terminal and tower at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.
Public Works Director Abe Forney says the existing terminal building and tower are crammed together into one aging building.
“It was built in the 50s,” Forney tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, it’s 70 years old and it’s been falling apart for many, many years. This upgrade is going to be a huge benefit to the airport and the users of the airport.”
Forney says the building’s windows are old and inefficient.
“And when we have strong storms out of the northwest, where we often do, it leaks and ceiling tiles fall in and carpet gets wet; causes for mildew and other things that excessive water would cause,” according to Forney. “It’s long overdue.”
The FAA announced Rosecrans will receive $1.98 million for reconstruction of the commercial passenger terminal. The airport tower also will be replaced.
Forney says the current facilities are not just old and inefficient, they are out-of-date.
“It does not meet the height requirement for the FAA. It doesn’t meet the safety requirements for security for the Air National Guad,” Forney says. “It’ll separate the buildings. The terminal building will be separate from the tower. The tower will be secure with a fence and have their own FAA security requirements that they can use and it meets the tower height requirement.”
Forney says the improvements dovetail nicely with the Air National Guard’s work to build a new 139th Airlift Group headquarters north of Rosecrans. The FAA contracts with the Air National Guard to operate Rosecrans’ tower.
Forney says Rosecrans is undergoing an entire renovation. Rosecrans has replaced its crosswind runway and is scheduled to replace its main, 8,000 runway next year.
“We’re going to have the terminal building. We’re going to have the tower and the snow removal building. That is just on the city side with help from the Guard,” Forney says. “But then the Guard is transitioning to the north side. They’re building a new simulator building. They would like to start design on their ramp. So that’s where the C-130s park. We’ve got big things coming for St. Joe.”