City of Morris annexes last bit of land needed for airport crosswind project

The Morris Municipal Airport soon will have a crosswind runway now that the city of Morris has completed its acquisition of an additional 185 acres of land.

The city of Morris received $11.8 million from the state of Illinois back in December 2021 to construct a crosswind runway, and Mayor Chris Brown said the hope is that the project can go out for bid in March 2025.

“Construction would start in the fall,” Brown said. “Now, obviously, based on timelines and things, that’s all going to change. I would say potentially if you’re starting in fall 2025, you could be looking at it being operational in spring 2026. That’s a guess based on what I understand.”

The construction of a crosswind runway would allow the Morris Municipal Airport to be used as an emergency landing spot for airplanes from O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airport.

The project is expected to cost about $14.7 million, with the grant from the state covering 80% of the cost.