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Joplin council approves $3.68 million emergency contract to replace airport boarding bridges
Summary
The City of Joplin approved emergency contracts on Sept. 8 to replace two passenger boarding bridges at Joplin Regional Airport, authorizing a $3,676,000 construction agreement and related construction-management services, citing federal grant deadlines and equipment age and failure risks.
The Joplin City Council voted unanimously Sept. 8 to approve emergency contracts to replace two aging passenger boarding bridges at Joplin Regional Airport.
City staff presented Council Bill 2025-103, a $3,676,000 construction agreement with Wright Construction Services Inc., saying the existing bridges were relocated from Springfield in 2009 and have surpassed their useful life. "The total cost for this project is $3,676,000," the airport manager said, and staff recommended emergency approval to meet federal grant deadlines. The council carried the motion 9–0.
The presentation said the replacement is supported by multiple federal grant programs, including IIJA and Airport Improvement Program funding, and that the new bridges will include preconditioned air and updated ground-power units to improve accessibility and energy efficiency. The airport manager told the council that staff learned only recently that an additional Infrastructure Investment Jobs Act grant needed to be executed alongside other grants to secure the federal share, and that requirement is driving the emergency designation: "We didn't know that was gonna be a required or an additional grant until about a week ago," the airport manager said.
Council also approved Council Bill 2025-132 to hire Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc. for construction-management services not to exceed $65,157.36; staff said those fees are part of the same federal-grant-supported package. The construction-services item passed on an emergency basis, 9–0.
A separate staff item to contract Springfield Striping and Sealing for parking-lot sealing and striping in 2025 for $120,986.18 was also approved on an emergency basis; staff said the work was in the existing budget and recommended proceeding now rather than postponing to a larger program next year.
Councilmembers asked about schedule and grant savings. The airport presentation included a construction timetable estimate of 12–18 months from contract execution to completion. One councilmember asked city staff to provide an estimate of total savings from the various grants versus city cost; the airport manager said he could not provide that figure on the spot but staff would follow up.
The contracts are intended to be executed promptly to align with the federal fiscal-year deadlines that staff said require signatures and execution in the current grant cycle. The council passed the measures as emergency ordinances so the city can meet those timelines and begin procurement and construction activities.
