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Airport director: primary runway reconstruction has started; $60 million project relies on federal, state and local shares
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Summary
The Grand Forks Airport Authority told the county commission that phase 1A of a planned $60 million primary runway reconstruction has begun; the authority has a $15.1 million grant for phase 1, expects roughly $30 million in FAA funding overall, and is pursuing a $1 million small-community grant to attract new airline service.
Bridal Wissner, director of the Grand Forks Airport Authority, told the County Commission that phase 1A of the airport’s long-planned primary runway reconstruction began this week and that enabling work is already under way. “We actually just, yesterday, started phase 1A of the primary runway reconstruction,” Wissner said.
The authority has estimated the full reconstruction at about $60 million. Wissner said the funding picture includes roughly $30 million from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program, a $20 million state allocation secured during the recent legislative session and an estimated $10 million local share funded by property-tax mills dedicated to the airport. For the initial (red) phase, staff received competitive bids and secured a $15.1 million federal grant to cover most of an estimated $15.4 million construction cost.
Why it matters: the runway’s concrete base dates to the 1960s and, according to Wissner, lacks modern drainage and pavement structure. The authority plans deep excavation in the first phase to install proper aggregate, edge drains and modern sub-grade elements, then phase the remaining reconstruction so commercial air-carrier operations can continue using the recently opened crosswind runway.
Wissner said the crosswind runway — opened in October 2024 — was an enabling project that lets the airport maintain large-aircraft operations during the summer construction season. The authority intends to complete the construction season’s work on the north (red) portion, return full primary-runway length to service for the winter months and then continue with the southern and middle phases the following construction season.
The airport director also walked commissioners through the airport’s approach to funding and phasing and described operational considerations: “During this construction, with the unique environment that we have, we will obviously want to maintain safety in that high-traffic environment and maintain air carrier operations during construction,” Wissner said.
Air-service efforts and a community grant: Wissner described concurrent efforts to expand scheduled service. The authority pursued a Small Community Air Service Development Grant (about $1 million) and assembled more than $509,000 in community pledges — including $200,000 from the City of Grand Forks — to support a minimum revenue guarantee and launch-marketing package. The authority has pledged to waive up to $300,000 in certain airport fees for a start-up airline and to provide $100,000 in marketing assistance if a carrier commits to new service.
The airport is targeting new United Airlines service to Denver (and has discussed Chicago) as part of a bid to increase seat capacity and connectivity. Wissner cautioned that airline markets are fluid and that jet-fuel costs and market adjustments affect carriers’ decisions, but she said the authority continues community outreach and airline negotiations.
What’s next: staff will complete design for the remaining phases, advertise bids in June and submit federal funding applications based on bid results; the FAA typically finalizes discretionary funding allocations in September, at which point the authority will award subsequent contracts for work in the next construction season.
