Board awards Runway 18/36 construction contract to Milestone; award contingent on FAA grant

The Elkhart Board of Aviation voted to award the Runway 18/36 contract to Milestone Construction, the low bidder at $1,807,580, with the award subject to receipt of an FAA grant and other funding approvals.

The board heard that the engineer's estimate was roughly $1,000,967.55 and that a competing bid from Reece Riley exceeded the estimate. Board members and staff discussed an alternate item for runway grooving that the FAA required additional justification for; staff said the FAA accepted the justification and the grooving will be included.

Board members discussed timing and constructability: if the FAA grant arrives quickly, work could begin this fall; if not, the contractor could defer work until spring because paving in October is weather-dependent. Staff flagged a scheduling constraint that the Runway 927 joint replacement project should not overlap major closures on 18/36 to avoid shutting the airport’s usable runways at the same time.

The board made a motion to award the contract to Milestone and on roll call the members voted in favor (Bruce Shriner — yes; Amy Latimer — yes; Tom Schauff — yes). The award was described as contingent on grant receipt and subject to the usual notice-to-proceed timing and grant conditions.

The airport’s consultant told the board the contractor might wait until spring if mobilization and aggregate/asphalt plant availability meant late-season paving would be risky. The board asked staff to notify Milestone that they would be the contractor should the FAA grant come through in time.