Maurice, Iowa — Work continues on the new Sioux County Regional Airport.
It’s a multi-jurisdictional project between the cities of Orange City and Sioux Center, along with Sioux County.
Harold Schiebout is Chairman of the Board of the Sioux County Airport Agency, the organization spearheading the project. He says the plan was first conceived almost fifteen years ago. He says they spent around four years acquiring real estate for the airport. He says in 2015 the dirt work for the airport was started, which was completed early this year.
He says bid letting for the paving work was done in May of this year, and they got the go-ahead in August to get it done.
Schiebout says there will be another bid letting for more paving next year.
He says they’ll probably do the same thing with most of the work being completed in 2017 but with a completion date of June, 2018. He says the construction of several buildings is also being staged to be complete around that time, including several hangars and a terminal building.
He says that the Federal Aviation Administration likes the Sioux County project, especially due to its multi-jurisdictional nature and the fact that a better, safer airport is replacing two older airports. However, the Sioux County Airport Agency is at the mercy of how the FAA handles their fiscal year.
He says that’s why it seems to be taking longer to get the project done. But he says in some ways its worked out for the best.
Schiebout says the new airport will take aviation to a whole new level.
He also says there will be a full taxiway, which means that planes can land, and then get off the runway immediately, making it available for another aircraft. He says the new airport’s higher elevation and the fact that it will be away from obstructions are also favorable aspects. He says the runway will be over a mile long, at 5500 feet, which is long enough for regional business jets, plus a margin of safety.
He said they’re hoping to have the new Sioux County Regional Airport open and operational by the third quarter of 2018, and when it opens, the Sioux Center and Orange City airports will be decommissioned. What the cities will do with the old airport properties is unknown at this time, he says.
Schiebout says the new airport is being built southeast of the Highway 10 and 75 junction.
