QuickTake:

The expansion, previously paused due to restrictions placed on a federal grant, is now back on the airport’s list of scheduled projects.

A $5 million grant from the federal government that will help pay for the expansion of Concourse A at the Eugene Airport is back on track. Airport officials say construction could begin next year.

The expansion would increase the seating capacity in the concourse from 291 to 781 seats, and it would add 5,400 square feet. The project was estimated to cost nearly $21.5 million in September 2024, according to city records.

However, just as contractors were lined up to begin construction, a key $5 million dollar grant from the U.S Department of Transportation was placed on pause, after a new set of conditions were added to the grant.

On April 24, Eugene Airport, along with other airports across the nation, received a memo from the Department of Transportation. It stated that in order to receive federal funds, airport officials are legally obligated to cooperate with federal authorities in immigration enforcement.

Due to the state’s sanctuary laws, Eugene Airport did not agree to the new requirements. 

In response, on May 13, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined 19 other states in a lawsuit challenging the directive. A federal court in Providence, Rhode Island, ruled on June 19 that the U.S Department of Transportation cannot withhold grant funding through these new requirements. 

This development allowed Eugene Airport to receive the original grant earmarked for the project, resuming plans for construction on the concourse, albeit with a tighter timeline.

“We had already selected a contractor. We were ready to put shovels in the ground, and then, boom, this additional language hits,” said Andrew Martz, Eugene Airport assistant director. “Getting this $5 million back allows us to refigure out our funds. … We’re going to meet these deadlines. We’re going to do it right as a team.”

Martz said the airport hopes to start construction in March.