The Moline airport terminal predates TSA and the roller suitcase.
Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, federal grant funding will pay for some major updates.
The project, called “Project GATEWAY,” includes updates to the public terminal, ticketing lobby and baggage claim, plus making the bathrooms more accessible. Over the next year, crews will start by moving security screening equipment from the lobby to a new facility.
Randy Clarahan is a market executive for Mortenson Construction, the company overseeing the project. He says the Quad Cities airport will also sound a lot different once the renovations are done.
"I'm going to sincerely miss the clickity-clackity, clickity-clackity of the concourse when we tear out the brick and put in the terrazzo," he joked.
The project is expected to take several years and cost up to $60-million dollars.
