By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – A group of St. Louis business leaders says Lambert Airport is in better financial shape than they previously thought.
Mayor Francis Slay put together the airport task force last year after American Airlines announced major flight cuts.
In February, the group said the $1.1 billion runway expansion was at least six months behind schedule.
But Thursday, task force member Barry Beracha said it's ahead of schedule and about $21 million dollars under budget.
"It was prudent on our part to be conservative in our projections, because the worst thing that could happen is that we would be too optimistic, and we would not be able to even hit those projections," Beracha said.
Beracha says additional federal money and about 50 new flights are the main reasons for the revised projection.