Airport embarking on parking garage repairs

The parking garage at Indianapolis International Airport is like a prized laying hen, dropping about $40 million a year into airport coffers.

Airport managers want to make sure the parking fees keep coming, so they're planning a multi-million dollar round of TLC.

The Indianapolis Airport Authority on Friday approved a contract with Cincinnati-based Structural Systems Repair Group in an amount not to exceed about $2.5 million for various rehab projects this year.

In 2015, the airport plans to spend $5.1 million on garage repairs. In addition, engineers are studying alternatives to the garage's atrium canopy, which has partially collapsed twice under the weight of snow and ice since the airport opened in 2008.

The 1,776-space garage is one of the largest open parking garages in the state, and Structural Systems' work this year is part of a multi-year plan to protect the investment in the garage and its revenue stream, Shannetta Griffin, director of planning and development, said in a memo to the airport authority board.

Structural Systems will repair concrete, waterproof the elevators, rehab certain mechanical components in the elevators, replace all six stairwells that surround the central atrium, replace joint seals, clean and seal stainless steel and rehab expansion joints on the garage ramps.

Ice and snow damaged the garage's atrium canopy in 2011, and again in February this year. It will be replaced this summer.

Even before the second incident, airport managers had been considering whether to install a glass enclosure in order to keep precipitation out of the garage as an alternative to the canopy, according to Griffin's memo.

The airport authority has approved spending a total of $3.15 million this year for parking garage maintenance. That includes the Structural Systems contract, plus design and other professional services. One of the professional services is an airflow analysis for the potential installation of a glass enclosure.

Also on Friday, the airport approved the following:

— An extension of the dock master agreement, set to expire Dec. 31, with Langham Airport Logistics LLC for three years. Langham has operated the terminal-receiving dock since 2008. The agreement allows for the annual service fee to increase 3 percent. The total cost of the three-year extension is anticipated to be $2.07 million.

— The purchase of a 3,000-gallon aircraft rescue and firefighting truck for $861,532. Federal grants cover 68 percent of the cost.

— A contract with Interstate Sealant & Concrete not to exceed $744,418 to rehabilitate the Eagle Hub apron. Interstate was the low bidder. The total project is expected to cost just under $1 million, and 75 percent will be funded by federal grants.

— A public bidding process for the repair of storm water inlets on the apron, a project that may cost $100,000 to $500,000.

— A contract with Crawford Murphy & Tilly Inc. in an amount not to exceed $314,000 to update the master plan for Eagle Creek Airpark. A federal grant will cover 90 percent of the cost.

— Contract with BKD LLP in an amount not to exceed $122,000 to audit the 2014 financial statements.