Quincy Regional Airport readies for $35 million in improvements

Officials from the City of Quincy and the State of Illinois officially kicked off $35 million in runway safety improvements at Quincy Regional Airport (QRA) Wednesday afternoon.

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omar Osman, Mayor Mike Troup, QRA Director Sandy Shorr and other dignitaries performed the ceremonial dirt turning signify the start of the project.

The improvements include reconstructing and rehabilitating QRA’s 7,100 foot long, 150 foot wide primary runway, roving the airport’s third runway surface and its parallel taxiway and realigning taxiway Bravo.

Shorr said these improvements will bring the primary runway into federal line-of-sight standards, address aging pavement conditions and correct potentially dangerous non-standard airfield geometry.

$12 million has already been allocated for the project, which will come from state, federal and local funds. Shorr says along with the direct infrastructure investment, the effort will create more than 60 jobs and generate more than $50 million in economic impact.