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Construction continues at a tri-cities airport. The facelift at the Kearney Regional Airport is continuing on schedule.The focus of the renovation was for customer passenger flow and comfort, including making the ticket counter closer to the T.S.A. area, increasing the security area, and adding restrooms. Airport officials say these changes will make things more pleasant for passengers and visitors.
"It's going to make it so much easier for people to access the terminal to either be flying out to Denver, it's even going to be a great place to bring someone else to fly or for someone to meet, so it's going to be a super facility," Kearney Airport Authority's Leonard Skov.Construction on the new parking lot will follow the completion of the terminal area, with thewhole project slated to be done by late summer.
History of Kearney Regional Airport Construction
In 1940, Kearney had a population of 9,643 people. In the early 1940s, three Nebraska cities, Kearney, Grand Island and Hastings joined together to form the Central Nebraska Defense Council when it was learned that the United States Army Air Force was considering the site for a military airfield. The group attempted to convince Washington that central Nebraska was a suitable location for defense related activities. Kearney and Grand Island effectively competed with one another as locations for defense airports which would serve as storage for aircraft being produced at Offutt Field and the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant near Omaha.
As early as 1941 the City of Kearney voted on a $60,000 bond to finance a new airport. Kearney Regional Airport began as Keens Municipal Airport. The total cost ended up being more than $360,000, with the balance funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Construction began at the site five miles east of Kearney on Highway 30 on 21 October 1941, and was dedicated as Keens Airport on 23 August 1942, with asphalt runways and a single hangar only a handful of buildings from the military era remain at Kearney Airport. The predominant one being Hangar #385.
