MORE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS This year, the airport has already finished two major airfield projects: a million dollar service road rehabilitation and a terminal apron reconstruction. “Those were completed and we have begun our FY- ’25 summer seasonal projects,” Roach notes. “We started an air cargo pad project, which is about a $7.5 million project to expand our air cargo operating area to include a fifth pad. We currently have four pads with UPS taking two of those pads and FedEx the other two. We needed room for expansion, and so this fifth cargo pad project, which is being completed by Knife River Construction, will allow us to offer additional space for another air cargo carrier to operate here at BIL. Next summer, we have programmed the resurfacing and extension of our crosswind runway, 72/5. It will be extended by a few hundred feet on each end and the surface will be rehabilitated. We anticipate that it will be around a $10-12 million project.” Next year, Billings Logan International Airport will begin design work on the next part of its terminal reconstruction.“We’ll design the front of the terminal,” Roach shares. “We’re looking at ticket counters, baggage claim, and our terminal front face. We’ll also look at the needs of some of our other operations like rental car counters and other businesses that operate in the landside of the terminal. That front half of the terminal was last updated in the 1990s, so it definitely needs an update and an expansion to meet the needs of our expanding passenger numbers.” Looking ahead, Roach adds that in 2026, the airport will be rehabilitating one of its major taxiways and its stormwater holding system.“We’re always working on improving our infrastructure,” he affirms. “In addition, we own and operate a number of buildings in the airport that we lease out to aeronautical and non-aeronautical tenants, and there’s always work going on associated with those buildings.” MOVING PASSENGERS AND FREIGHT Regarding those expanding passenger numbers, Roach reports that last year, the airport served 840,000 passengers. “While that’s still below our 2019 (pre-pandemic) peak, we are continuing to 280 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 09
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