Aviation View - Oct 2023

26 AVIATION VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 Roach cites ongoing capital improvements, including being in the final year of a $60 million terminal renovation and expansion. This project is focused on the secure side of the terminal. Before, the terminal was 160,000 square feet, with six gates, four of them being jet bridge gates. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, such gates are enclosed, movable connectors that usually extend from airport terminal gates to airplanes, letting passengers board and disembark without going outside in inclement weather. The terminal of the future will be completed in the spring and boast 220,000 square feet, with nine gates, eight of them jet bridge gates. Sletten Construction is the prime contractor. Of this $60 million project, he adds that $43.7 million comes from the feds, and there’s some $16.3 million in local funding. “We are able to complete this project with virtually no debt service,” he notes. “We are very pleased with that. We’ve certainly gone a long way to make sure that we are being economical in our construction project, but also striving to meet the capacity needs of the future.” As the terminal project nears completion, airport officials will be implementing a master plan update. Roach reveals that means receiving federal funding in the next federal fiscal year and taking a long look at the next two decades. Two smaller projects have also just been completed: a baggage claim/restroom renovation and the recarpeting of the terminal’s entire non-secure side, baggage claim/ticketing, and entryways. Another recent project was the reconstruction of the airfield ramp, including repaving efforts. “We’re redoing that surface with four inches of asphalt and 16 inches of concrete,” says Roach. “That will allow the aircraft maneuvering around the new B Concourse BIL Terminal Area. Photo by Larry Mayer