Galesburg airport gets $1.29M for upgrades through Rebuild Illinois

Tom Martin, Galesburg Register-Mail
·2 min read
The Galesburg Municipal Airport will will receive $1.29M in funding to help pay for replacing underground fuel tanks and resurfacing the entrance from West Main Street and the parking lot.
The Galesburg Municipal Airport will will receive $1.29M in funding to help pay for replacing underground fuel tanks and resurfacing the entrance from West Main Street and the parking lot.

GALESBURG — The Galesburg Municipal Airport will get new fuel tanks and the parking lot and entrance will be resurfaced, thanks to funds coming from Rebuild Illinois.

Galesburg Municipal Airport is set to receive $1.29 million in funding for two projects, according to Parks Director Tony Oligney-Estill.

The larger project, which will cost $1 million, is to replace two large underground fuel tanks with above ground fuel tanks. Oligney-Estill explained that above ground fuel tanks is now the trend because they are safer and make it easier to identify problems with the tanks.

The second project, costing $435,000, will pay to fix and resurface the airport entrance from West Main Street and the parking lot.

More: VIDEO: Mitchell B-25 Berlin Express at 50th National Stearman Fly-In

The Galesburg Municipal Airport will will receive $1.4M in funding to help pay for replacing underground fuel tanks and resurfacing the entrance from West Main Street and the parking lot.
The Galesburg Municipal Airport will will receive $1.4M in funding to help pay for replacing underground fuel tanks and resurfacing the entrance from West Main Street and the parking lot.

The state grant will cover 90% of the projects’ cost: $1.29 million. The city will pay 10% of the cost, or $143,500. Oligney-Estill said he's unsure of the timeline of the projects because he hasn't received official notice from the state yet.

The money is a one-time grant through Rebuild Illinois. Airports in Illinois will receive $94 million in grants. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) announced the projects in District 17, which also include Kewanee Municipal Airport: $1.8 million; General Wayne A. Downing-Peoria International Airport: $1,000,000; Ingersoll Airport (Canton): $400,000; and Quad City International Airport: $5.64 million.

“This historic investment will help improve safety and efficiency at airports big and small throughout the state — all while creating good-paying jobs in our communities,” Bustos said in a news release. “I look forward to seeing these funds, and the billions passed for aviation in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, put folks to work in Northwest and Central Illinois.”

More: Progress made on Stearman Fly-in home in Galesburg

The North American Mitchell B25 "Berlin Express" was one of the featured attractions at the 50th National Stearman Fly-In at the Galesburg Municipal Airport through Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. The airport will will receive $1.4M in funding to help pay for replacing underground fuel tanks and resurfacing the entrance from West Main Street and the parking lot.

Gov. JB Pritzker was in Moline Wednesday to publicize the funding for 96 airports around the state.

“Crucially, these dollars are going first and foremost to projects that might not otherwise be eligible for the full federal funding that they need to finish,” Pritzker said of the Rebuild Illinois funding.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Rebuild Illinois will fund two projects at the Galesburg Municipal Airport