Construction will start within the next two weeks on a new passenger terminal at Range Regional Airport outside Hibbing, thanks to $5 million in federal grants announced Tuesday.
The federal money, which comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation, was announced by U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan and Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar.
Minnesota state lawmakers also contributed $5 million in state construction bonding money earlier this year for the $10 million terminal project.
“That means we’ve got what we need and we’re ready to go. We hope to see demolition start before the end of the month,’’ Shaun Germolus, the airport’s executive director, told the News Tribune.
Germolus said a temporary terminal has been established in a building that had been used to store snowplows. That will serve as the terminal until the new building is completed in about 15 months, Germolus said Tuesday.
“It should be done at about Thanksgiving’’ 2015, he said.
The airport currently handles two Delta Airlines flights daily to and from Minneapolis, plus an occasional charter flight. The terminal handles about 30,000 passengers a year, combined arrivals and departures, Germolus said.
“By investing in the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing, we’re spurring economic development on the Range and bolstering our regional transportation network,” Franken said in a prepared comment. “These critical upgrades will improve airport safety, help create jobs, and go a long way towards making sure that Minnesota’s aviation infrastructure system is world class.”
Germolus said there’s been no decision made on whether the new Range terminal or the new Duluth airport terminal - which opened in January 2013 - will be named after the late U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar. He said those discussions are ongoing.
