Boggy ground won't bog down the Decorah Airport driveway project

Posted: Tue, Oct 6, 2020 11:39 AM

Construction crews have run into an issue at the project to redo the driveway into the Decorah Airport—bad soil quality. Decorah City Administrator Chad Bird says crews discovered "some pretty soupy soils" when they began work on the project. That increased the amount of work the crews had to do—as well as increasing the price.

Most airport projects have 90 percent of the cost paid by the federal government and 10 percent through local matching funds. But in 2020, part of the federal government's response to COVID-19 has been to pay 100 percent of the cost of airport projects. Bird says that means the city government won't be on the hook for 10 percent of the higher cost of the project.

Concrete pouring at the site is expected to happen later this week.