(Radio Iowa) – The project to replace the Sioux City runway that’s being used by the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Refueling Wing is included in the defense spending bill the U-S House approved Wednesday. Congressman Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, says it will protect over a thousand jobs at the Sioux Gateway Airport. “This is probably my number one issue for Sioux City over the last several years,” Feenstra says. The Iowa Air National Guard’s runway in Sioux City was built for lightweight F-16 fighter jets. Twenty years ago the 185th became a Refueling Wing and flies massive KC-135 Stratotankers that weigh 41-and-a-half tons when fully loaded. The Federal Aviation Administration has said it will soon be unsafe for those planes to use that runway.

“I was in one of the KC135s. They took me up in the air and when you come down, it’s sort of like a sponge,” Feenstra said, “so we knew we had to get it done and the time was running out.” The Federal Aviation Administration has set aside 20-million dollars for the project, but that funding would be lost if the Pentagon doesn’t start the project by mid-2027. The estimated cost of replacing the runway and other improvements is nearly 150-million dollars. “It allows the construction of a new runway, aircraft parking apron, and warm up and holding pads for…Stratotankers,” Feenstra said.

The language authorizing the project’s start is included in the massive National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate is expected to soon approve the bill and send to President Trump for his signature.