Hoeven: Terminal Development Project Needed to Support Growth in Bismarck-Mandan Region

Hoeven: Terminal Development Project Needed to Support Growth in Bismarck-Mandan Region

Senator Working to Secure $50 Million Federal Funding Share for $132 Million Project Expanding Bismarck Airport Facilities

BISMARCK, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven today held a meeting with Bismarck Airport officials and local leaders to discuss the Bismarck Airport's more than $132 million Terminal Development Project. As a member of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Committee, Hoeven is working to fulfill the project's $50 million federal funding share, enabling the airport to renovate its 20-year-old terminal to meet increasing air service demand. The Terminal Project will:

1. Add two additional gates to expand air service capacity.
2. Increase the size of departure lounges, improving the passenger experience and allowing for greater passenger circulation.
3. Expand the TSA checkpoint to meet modern security standards and to allow for growth.
4. Enlarge restrooms, which are currently undersized and lack passenger amenities.
5. Increase baggage screening facilities for greater efficiency and to support increased air service.

The terminal expansion is needed to meet higher-than-expected growth in air service at the Bismarck Airport. When the terminal was first designed and built, having been completed in 2005, the facility was projected to have 240,000 enplanements per year by 2021. However, this figure was surpassed as early as 2015, with passenger activity exceeding 300,000 in 2019 and 2025. The project is currently in the design phase, with the goal of starting construction in 2027 and completing in 2030.

"The Bismarck-Mandan area has grown by more than 40,000 people in the last 25 years, and it shows with the record-setting number of passengers moving through the Bismarck Airport," said Hoeven. "This airport was built with the expectation that it would support 240,000 passengers per year, but we hit that number six years earlier than projected. The Terminal Development Project is a needed investment in the future growth of this region, which is why we convened this meeting to identify and work toward securing the best opportunities for fulfilling the project's $50 million federal funding share."

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