Grant to help airport upgrade.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

The Eugene Airport received a $4.1 million state grant on Wednesday to expand its air cargo facilities.

The project was among $100 million worth of nonhighway transportation projects approved by the Oregon Transportation Commission under the Connect Oregon banner, passed by the 2005 Legislature.

The money will be used to more than double the size of the cargo ramp - the paved area where planes park - from 122,100 square feet to 254,627 square feet, said John Jackley, head of the Connect Oregon program for the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The expansion will allow the airport to accommodate more planes at once - and bigger planes, including craft as large as a Boeing 737 or DC-9, he said. That will enable the Eugene Airport to become a regional cargo hub, he said.

Local businesses will save by shipping out of Eugene instead of trucking their goods to Portland International Airport, he said.

"It allows more and varied cargo to be shipped, which decreases costs for businesses in the region," Jackley said.

Another key piece of the project is a new 15,000-square-foot warehouse and office building, airport manager Bob Noble said. Packages can be moved on and off planes by conveyor to the building, so that trucks no longer have to drive out onto the ramp, Noble said.

The money also will be used to reconfigure the taxiway that leads to the cargo area. Currently, the cargo area is served by a small taxiway that ends in a cul-de-sac. The expanded taxiway will create a loop system and allow for two-way traffic.

The airport will match the $4.1 million in state money with $1.09 million of its own money, plus $275,000 leveraged from other sources, Jackley said.

Construction of the project is set for next summer, Noble said.