New Ulm City Council awarded the Crosswind Runway project to Duinick, Inc for $1.6 million Tuesday.

The city received two bids for the project with Duinick’s being the lowest. New Ulm City Engineer Joe Stadheim said the low bid came in 27% below the engineer’s initial estimate.

As part of the project, the airport’s current turf crosswind runway will be removed and a new turf runway will be created with an east-west alignment to improve safety at the New Ulm Municipal Airport.

New Ulm’s airport has 94% wind coverage between its two runways. By moving the location of the crosswind runway and giving it an east-west alignment, the airport will have a wind coverage rate of 98%. This means aircraft will be able to safely land at the airport under 98% of wind conditions.

This is especially important for New Ulm’s airport, which is heavily used by smaller fixed-wing and single-engine planes. Smaller aircraft are more susceptible to strong crosswinds. The new crosswind runway will make it easier for smaller planes to land.

Stadheim reminded the council the crosswind runway project is 95% funded through a future Federal Aviation Administration congressional directed spending grant. A state companion grant will cover another 2.5% of the project, leaving the city’s share of the project at 2.5% or $40,599.20. The local portion of the project will be funded through the city’s 2025 bond issuance.