ELKHART -- Federal economic stimulus money will pay to rehabilitate Elkhart Municipal Airport's main runway, and city officials say it's coming not a moment too soon.

Runway 9/27, which was last repaired in 2001, wasn't scheduled to receive rehab funding until 2012. Last year, the city told the Federal Aviation Administration that the runway wouldn't last that long.

"We knew we weren't going to be able to maintain it in a safe condition between now and then, so we asked them to move this up in priority," airport manager Andy Jones said.

Unsure whether the FAA would bump the project higher up its list, the city had preliminary environmental studies done at the site once the idea of a federal stimulus package sprung up in Washington.

That work made the project "shovel-ready" and now, $4.2 million is headed to Elkhart, part of the $1.1 billion in stimulus money slated for aviation projects.

The city estimates the rehab of the 6,500-foot runway will create 250 jobs, based on a federal formula that approximates jobs created per dollar spent.

With 2,000 loads of material required for the repair and two paving machines working around the clock, Mayor Dick Moore said he believes the estimate is a good one.

"It's a pretty big job, and consequently, it will create some jobs in that area," he said.

Additional engineering work will be done at the site in the next three weeks, then the plans will go out to contractors for bidding. Moore said the city can require companies to hire at least 30 percent local labor, as long as the work force has the skills and abilities required for the project.

Jones said the city will put two plans out for bid: one using asphalt and one with concrete. Hopefully, he said, the city can afford to use concrete, which doubles the runway's strength and does not require ongoing maintenance.

No one at the airport can determine why the runway deteriorated so quickly, he said, but preserving the pavement was turning into a "losing battle."

Not only will the project create jobs now, Jones said the stimulus saves local taxpayers a significant amount of money. The project cost would increase greatly by 2012, more money would be spent patching the runway, and regular federal funds typically require a 2.5 percent local government match.

"It's just saving us huge amounts of money, time and effort," Jones said.