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City staff seeks council backing to pursue UDOT bridge loan for airport apron expansion
Summary
Provo Airport director presented financing plans for an apron expansion tied to MAG and FAA funding; staff requested council resolution ahead of final loan adoption to bridge cash-flow until MAG funds arrive in 2028.
Provo Airport Director Brian Torgetts told the council on Jan. 14 that staff will ask the council in February to adopt a resolution supporting a short-term loan from UDOT to bridge a cash-flow gap for the airport apron expansion.
Torgetts said the project is the apron build-out to support a future 10-gate terminal. He said funding already committed includes $16.9 million from the Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG), which will not be available until 2028, and $11.9 million from the Federal Aviation Administration. To avoid delaying construction until 2028, staff negotiated a bridge loan program with the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Transportation Commission staff and now seeks council support to complete the formal loan adoption next month.
Torgetts described the work as the full apron for a 10-gate expansion and said much of the earthwork — fill and underground piping — has already been completed during earlier phases. He said some building work will follow the apron, including baggage claim enlargement and other terminal additions.
Councilors asked for technical clarifications: how much of the work is dirt and compaction versus concrete; whether additional buildings are needed for the 10 gates; and whether utilities and underground piping are in place. Torgetts answered that dirt work and underground piping are largely complete and that the loan would cover interim interest costs until MAG funds arrive.
Torgetts said MAG will pay accrued interest on the loan and explained the structure: “We specifically asked for the loan and the amount that we knew could cover the interest payment from the MAG money,” he said, adding that the formal Transportation Commission action will occur next month and the council’s resolution will be requested in February.
No resolution was taken at the Jan. 14 work meeting; Torgetts said he expects to return to the council in February with the formal loan resolution and asked councilors to raise any further financing questions before that meeting.
