South Central Regional Airport (Oskaloosa)

A proposed airport for the small city of Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa, some 40 miles from Des Moines and 60 miles from Cedar Rapids. The impetus is from businesses in nearby Pelle. The existing Oskaloosa and Pelle airfields would close. In 2014, the project was estimated to cost approximately USD35 million.

Dec-2017. 

15-Dec-2017. South Central Regional Airport Agency (SCRAA) passed resolutions to prepare a request the US FAA to release municipal land at South Central Regional Airport (Iowa) and to prepare for a public information meeting concerning land acquisition. SCRAA intends to retain the services of HDR for property acquisition and project coordination for phase one of the airport development project. 

07-Dec-2017. South Central Regional Airport Agency (SCRAA) selected HDR to plan and design the 581 acre South Central Regional Airport (Iowa). US FAA completed its review of the USD30 million first phase in Nov-2017. HDR will provide services such as real estate acquisition, master planning, GIS and geotechnical engineering, environmental documentation, finance and economics support, public outreach, FAA liaison services and all civil design for terminals, hangars, aprons, utilities and runways. The airport will replace two municipal airports and help meet regional aeronautical demand. Phase one will involve land acquisition, expected to take about two years. Design and construction of the new facility will take about three years. Airport features include:

• 6700ft primary runway, capable of providing a precision instrument approach for B/C category aircraft; 
• Full, parallel taxiway system, crosswind runway and aircraft parking apron;
• Terminal building, infrastructure for aviation services such as fuelling and MRO, and hangars for aircraft storage.

When complete, South Central Regional Airport is projected to be the 10th busiest airport in the State.

Aug-2017. South Central Regional Airport Authority (SCRAA) confirmed plans to choose a firm for the construction of South Central Regional Airport (Iowa) on 24-Aug-2017. The final decision will require approval from the US FAA.

Jan-2017. US Mahaska County Board of Supervisors voted to remove themselves from an agreement with the City of Pella and City of Oskaloosa to build a new regional airport. According to the agreement passed in 2012, the three entities agreed in good faith to complete all necessary procedures to build a new regional airport in northern Mahaska County to replace Pella Municipal Airport and Oskaloosa Municipal Airport facilities. Mahaska County board member Mark Doland said the county has voted to leave the agreement as it has not been represented well throughout the process, and that a significant number of Mahaska County voters are in opposition to the airport.

Jun-2015. The South Central Regional Airport Agency held a public meeting  to discuss the proposed new airport. SCRAA airport planner Jerry Searle said the environmental assessment is currently ongoing and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015. Mr Searle said, “The goal is to construct a new airport to accommodate the aeronautical demand that has been approved by the FAA, based on the aviation forecast. It will ultimately result in the closing of two existing airports and reducing the environmental footprint”.