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Boise Airport to fully reconstruct primary runway in $74 million project; work to stretch through fall
Summary
Airport staff told commissioners the full reconstruction will require months of phased work this year, remove roughly 212 million pounds of asphalt, add a new drainage layer FAA plans to require, and will be funded mainly by a $64 million FAA grant with local match.
Boise — Airport airfield staff told the Boise Airport Commission on April 1 that a full reconstruction of the airport’s primary runway will require extensive phased work through the fall and is budgeted at about $74 million.
Marcus Green, the airport’s airfield project lead, said the program of work launched in early March and this year’s construction window will run roughly 232 days into November as teams complete the first half of the two‑year reconstruction. "It's going to take us approximately 232 days," he said, describing the sequencing the airport will use to maintain operations during work.
Green said staff discovered groundwater issues beneath the pavement during preconstruction monitoring, which has contributed to asphalt deterioration. To address the problem, the airport will install a subsurface drainage layer under the new pavement — a method Green said is among the first of its kind used at U.S. airports and one the Federal Aviation Administration is moving to adopt in future specifications.
The project will remove large quantities of existing pavement. Green reported the work will produce on the order of 212 million pounds of asphalt and that contractors are hauling between about 175 and 210 trucks per day during removal. He said some recycled millings may be stockpiled and reused on state or local projects, but the FAA does not permit incorporation of reclaimed asphalt pavement into new FAA runway pavements.
On cost and funding, Green said the runway project is "about $74 million," with roughly $64 million expected from a discretionary FAA grant and about $2.9 million in airport entitlement funds; the airport’s share of FAA projects is typically about 16% of eligible costs. The reconstructed runway is being designed for a 20‑year design life, Green said.
Green described multiple mitigation steps to keep aircraft operations flowing during work: phased closures, temporary taxi lanes, and coordination with the control tower and tenants to limit disruption. He said safety and phasing plans are reviewed through a Safety Risk Management Panel and are shared with pilots and tenants via standard NOTAM and NOTAM‑style briefings.
Commissioners thanked staff for the technical brief and asked clarifying questions about coordination with air traffic control and the project timeline. The commission did not take a formal action on the reconstruction at the April 1 meeting; staff said work will continue under existing procurement and grant approvals.
