Glen Carbon Firm to Work at Airport

By Editor | October 20, 2024 |

by Randy Pierce

GLEN CARBON — Keller Construction, Inc. of Glen Carbon has been awarded a contract to perform temporary facilities sitework at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, the company’s bid of $653,585 being lower than one received from Holland Construction Services of Swansea.

This work is to be completed in conjunction with the Boeing Corporation MQ-25 Stingray program which involves its manufacture, at a plant on Illinois Route 4 near the airport in St. Clair County, of an innovative unmanned jet refueling aircraft for the United States Navy.

The Navy, according to the airport’s director, Darren James, needs space to locate five trailers on the cargo apron there for the purpose of setting up a mechanism to monitor test flights of the MQ-25. An office complex, including desks, restrooms, a break room and a conference room, with utility lines connected to it, is also to be constructed in this same area as part of this program along with a sidewalk.

The airport budget, which is overseen by the St. Clair County Public Building Commission, will be the source of payment to Keller for its work as mentioned herein but then Boeing will reimburse those costs in the future.

There was a temporary facility similar to this at the same location previously when Boeing was conducting preliminary testing of its MQ-25 prototype. but the buildings and accoutrements had been removed to save the company the expense of paying for it during the waiting period for the final completion of the Navy aircraft which will be tested there before being formally delivered for military usage.

Keller Construction, Inc. previously had a presence in the airport area after, in early 2022, it was awarded a contract for the creation of an entrance to the new Boeing production facility.

Along with the electronic traffic signalization at this location on Illinois Route 4 east of the airport, that project included the widening of Route 4 plus the addition of new lanes for left and right turns, shoulders and the necessary additional concrete pavement.