Indianapolis Airport Authority Earns Infrastructure Award

INDIANAPOLIS (May 6, 2019) – The Indianapolis Airport Authority has been intelligently investing the millions in federal and state grant funding it received last year to maintain, in part, its general aviation airport system – including Taxiway B at Eagle Creek Airpark that recently earned the first Envision Bronze Award in the nation for a project of its kind.

The Taxiway B project was constructed using a process that required special exception from the Federal Aviation Agency, and rebuilt the runway onsite using recycled pavement from the prior structure. This eliminated the need to haul away old material and bring in all new material – therefore, reducing the use for virgin resources and decreasing trucking and associated fuel emissions.

“This process is not commonly used at airports today, so we’re early adopters on this one,” said Mario Rodriguez, IAA executive director and a civil engineer. “We were able to meet construction and safety standards, yet limit construction costs, land disturbance and impact to the surrounding community.”

The project also included upgrading lighting to new energy-efficient LED lighting.

The Envision program, which supports higher performance throughout sustainable choices in infrastructure development, is a collaboration between the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure and Harvard University’s Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure. The Envision program provides industry-wide sustainability metrics for all types and sizes of infrastructure to help users assess and measure the extent to which their project contributes to conditions of sustainability across the full range of social, economic, and environmental indicators.

Rodriguez said the nearly $20 million in federal and state grants the airport was awarded last year are instrumental in maintaining the entire IAA airport system, including its general aviation airports. In addition to the Indianapolis International Airport, the IAA also operates the Metropolitan Airport, the Downtown Heliport, Eagle Creek Airpark, Hendricks County Airport-Gordon Graham Field and the Indianapolis Regional Airport in Greenfield. More than half of general aviation flights across the nation are for business purposes and public services that need flexible transportation options.

"They provide flexibility for flight and function that can’t always be accommodated via commercial flight," said Rodriguez. "Investing in improvements to our general aviation airports is crucial in supporting the public value they deliver to communities throughout Central Indiana.”