Staff Report

ROCKFORD – A groundbreaking ceremony was held Monday at the Chicago Rockford International Airport to announce a major expansion project expected to bring hundreds of jobs to the area.

Airport Director Mike Dunn said a more than 100,000-square-foot expansion to its cargo facility will help LTSTX, a cargo carrier for Amazon, grow its operation. The $10 million project will create 400 warehouse jobs when the facility is finished next year.

“Things are happening here, and it’s very exciting,” Dunn said at the ceremony.

The airport’s ramp will also be expanded to handle more aircraft. That phase is expected to be finished in three months.

The announcement comes amid significant grown at the airport. Dunn said the the 1.4 billion pounds of cargo that traveled through the facility in 2017 is a 50-percent increase from the previous year. R.