GREENSBURG, Kan. (AP) - Ten years after the western Kansas town of Greensburg was nearly destroyed by a tornado, hopes for a new airport are finally taking off.
The town will receive a $1.08 million grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation to fund an early phase of a new airport northeast of town. It is the largest of 26 grants, worth more than $4 million, announced by the agency for airport improvements around the state, The Hutchinson News reported (https://bit.ly/2on7Xn7 ).
The Greensburg grant will fund grading and drainage for a grass runway about 3 miles east of town, City Administrator Kyler Ludwig said.
City officials are hoping it’s the first of a three-part, $3.6 million effort to build a lighted, 3,200-foot concrete runaway that could serve a fixed-wing air ambulance. The new airport would serve Greensburg and a hospital in Coldwater.
“This is the 10th anniversary of the Greensburg tornado, so it’s a good way to take another step as they move forward on rebuilding the community,” said Brianna K. Landon, spokeswoman for the transportation department.
The May 2007 tornado destroyed 95 percent of the town and killed 11 people.
The city of about 800 closed its airport in 2010 with plans to move it because it couldn’t accommodate medical planes, Ludwig said.
The state and city have been working on the airport plan since 2011, Landon said. The state previously provided $927,400 for designing the airport, acquiring the 140 acres and removing obstructions, such as power lines, from the site.
The transportation department is working across the state to have airports capable of landing fixed-wing ambulances within 30 minutes of all critical access hospitals, Ludwig said.
“Right now our ambulance service would have to drive to Pratt for a fixed wing,” Ludwig said. “We do have access to a (medical) helicopter, but this is much cheaper and has efficiency benefits important to the community.”
The city is providing an initial $120,000 match but city officials hope other stakeholders, such as the county hospital foundation and other community groups, will become involved for the future work, Ludwig said.
Plans are to complete initial construction this year, with the entire project completed in 3 to 5 years.
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Information from: The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, https://www.hutchnews.com
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