LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A small southern Indiana airport is about to see some major improvements. You won't be able to book an airline flight, but leaders say the change will have business flying into the community. 

On a damp dreary day in Clark County, the dirt turning at the regional airport is like a sign of the skies parting.

John Secor flies for UPS and manages the small Clark County airport. 

"We are in the beginning stages: the earth-moving stage of an expansion to our runway," Secor said. "This project is seven years in the running."

He says extending the main runway from 5,500 feet to 7,000 feet is a safety decision. It makes a difference when pilots decide whether to take off on bad-weather days.

"It will increase the capability of the airport to handle different aircraft," Secor said. "It will open us up to receiving larger aircraft."

For example:

"We regularly see the Amazon aircraft on the runway at Clark Regional," Secor said.

The takeoff in business at River Ridge is what's driving this airport expansion. The commerce park is just four miles away, on the other side of the trees. 

"We have sat down together drafted, spoke and brainstormed how we can work together," Secor said. "Even to the point where we have talked about connecting River Ridge to the airport."

It's much more than 1,500 feet of new concrete. Secor says the runway expansion is estimated at $19 million. That includes land acquisitions, engineering, and construction. 

Taxpayers are piloting the bill. 

"For the most part, the federal government grants will pay for that," Secor said.

Secor sees it as an investment, saying bigger planes bring bigger jobs to southern Indiana.

"Maybe drawing more Fortune 500 companies to the area as a result of this expansion," he said.

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