The Sawyer air traffic control tower will be significantly improved using federal grants, a top airport official said. (Journal file photo)

MARQUETTE — A pair of big-ticket construction projects are among ventures dominating planning at Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport.

According to Duane DuRay, Sawyer director, the projects include construction and purchase of two passenger boarding bridges, the enclosed walkways that connect arriving and

departing aircraft with the airport terminal.

“The current … bridges are 20-plus years old,” said DuRay. “They need to be replaced.”

Together the bridges, which are built off-sight to exacting specifications, will cost about $5.15 million. That total includes the build, engineering, the bidding process and site work, he said.

DuRay said he believes work in the passenger boarding bridges, which is out on bids, will reach into 2026.

Another significant project DuRay is monitoring is improvement of Sawyer’s air traffic control tower. A remnant of the U.S. Air Force’s occupation of Sawyer which ended in 1996, the tower’s radio communications system, heating and air conditioning and fire escape functions will be improved at a $1.5 million cost.

This project, too, is out on bids, and will reach into 2026 when completed, he said.

Both the air traffic control tower work and the passenger boarding bridges will be funded by Federal Aviation Administration grants, which Sawyer airport has yet to receive.

Despite the recent significant budget cutting at the federal level, DuRay said he isn’t worried about receiving the money.

“We fully anticipate receiving the grants,” he said. “Air travel is a critical component” of a healthy economy.