2024-02-13 02:46:01
FARGO — The terminal expansion project at Hector International Airport has received a boost from a $10 million federal grant.
The grant award was announced Monday, Feb. 12, by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee.
The $10 million grant is part of what Hoeven said will be a federal share of $80 million for the $155 million project, the rest of which will be paid from state and local sources.
Plans call for almost doubling the terminal from five boarding gates to nine and
building a 977-stall, four-level parking ramp
that will be attached to the terminal by an elevated walkway.
“This is an incredible project because Hector is an important regional hub for not only North Dakota but Minnesota, as well,” Hoeven said.
The expansion project, which will start construction this spring, also includes an apron expansion. That added space will make room for additional planes to park at the new gates, be refueled and undergo maintenance.
Passenger growth at Hector increased 35% from 2009 to 2019 and has recovered from the pandemic slowdown. Also, the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area population, now regarding 258,000, is expected to grow by at least 100,000 by 2050.
As of August 2023, the airport was handling more than 450,000 passengers annually, a number expected to increase to more than 750,000 within the next 20 years.
“Hector is the busiest airport in the state, and this award is a good first step in helping them keep pace with the region’s extraordinary growth,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
Airport officials previously described a $124 million, 75,000-square-foot terminal addition that will expand the existing 115,000-square-foot terminal, intended to meet increased boardings to the year 2050.
The ramp is expected to cost $43 million and the skyway $4 million.
The four-level parking ramp, shown in this rendering, will have 977 stalls, including 22 handicapped spots, and will be connected to the second level of an expanded and renovated terminal at Hector International Airport.
Contributed / T.L. Stroh Architects-Interiors
The parking garage will be almost 400,000 square feet, will include 22 accessible parking spots and will have a roof and partial enclosures to allow for ventilation.
Designers are looking into an alternative that would add screening that might deflect snow, shielding travelers and cars parked in the ramp.
Because the ramp will occupy 238 spaces in the short-term parking lot, it will result in a net gain in parking spaces of 735. The ramp will provide roughly one-third of parking spaces.
This architectural rendering shows what Hector International Airport in Fargo will look like following a planned terminal expansion. A proposed parking garage would be built directly south of the terminal.
Contributed / Municipal Airport Authority
Patrick Springer first joined The Forum in 1985. He covers a wide range of subjects including health care, energy and population trends. Email address: [email protected]
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