St. Joseph awarded $7.4M state grant to develop new aircraft complex at 139th Airlift Wing
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- The City of St. Joseph will receive millions in state grant funding to design a state-of-the-art facility capable of maintaining the coveted C-130J model aircraft.
St. Joseph and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission have agreed to terms on a $7.49 million airport grant agreement for design phase services for a new aircraft maintenance facility for the 139th Airlift Wing at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.
Grant funds will be provided through the State Airport Aid Fund on a reimbursement basis, allowing the city and the Missouri Air National Guard to initiate critical early steps for facility planning.
"The state gave us the money saying the 139th Airlift Wing is extremely important for our state and our community," St. Joseph Public Works Director Abe Forney said. “The 139th is not just local. It's a local and a federal mission."
The addition of a new and expanded maintenance hangar serves as a major checkmark for securing the long-sought C-130J, the U.S. Air Force’s primary transport aircraft and a major upgrade from C-130Hs currently at Rosecrans.
The C-130J is also viewed as the backbone of NATO’s airlift superiority, with a fleet of more than 540 C-130Js across 70 countries.
“One of the things that didn't allow them to say the J-model was perfect for Rosecrans was the aircraft maintenance hangar was not big enough according to specifications," Forney said. "This is a bigger maintenance facility for the J models ... I think this is the exact thing that needed to happen."
The current plan is to design the new maintenance facility to be large enough to hold two C-130J models.
While the facility doesn't guarantee approval of the C-130J, which often involves a highly competitive bidding process, Forney credited the work of many local and state government officials for putting St. Joseph in as strong a position as possible to secure it.
"City Council worked on this. The representatives from the state worked on this. The senators worked on it. All the way up to Gov. Kehoe," Forney said. “If we didn't get this grant, we would be waiting on the Department of Defense or the Federal Government."
City Councilmembers are now scheduled to hear a first reading for the grant agreement on Monday before final approval takes place at the Nov. 17 meeting.
The announcement comes as the 139th Airlift Wing continues the long-term process of relocating to the north end of the base.
Between it and the 86-year-old Rosecrans Memorial Airport, more than $35 million has been invested in widespread infrastructure upgrades in recent years, including a new terminal building, runway and air traffic control tower nearing completion.
