Boise Airport gets $74M from feds for upgrades as growth takes off. What’s coming
More federal dollars are expected to land in Boise as the city works toward a massive airport expansion and a slate of infrastructure upgrades amid rapid regional growth.
The Boise Airport is set to receive $74 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration for safety upgrades and other improvements, including the planned expansion, according to a Thursday news release from the city. That announcement comes a month after the airport shared it had been awarded $9 million in a pair of FAA grants, the Idaho Statesman reported.
The latest grants are expected to bolster reconstruction work on one of the airport’s runways and fund the installation of new visual guidance lights on the runway. They’ll also round out construction on an aircraft apron, which is the paved area used for aircraft parking, fueling, boarding and deplaning. The apron will be used for the airport’s third concourse, Concourse A, which is planned as a key piece of the $700 million expansion that’s scheduled to be underway in 2028.
“The runways and airfield are the most critical pieces of infrastructure at an airport,” said Beth Sumner, the airport’s deputy director of engineering, in the news release. “While they may not be as visible as a new terminal, these investments ensure Boise Airport can continue to safely and efficiently serve the Treasure Valley and the entire region for decades to come.”
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean added in the release that the “grants are one of the many ways that we pursue strategic funding opportunities, investing in infrastructure that supports the services and quality of life Boiseans enjoy.”
The airport’s multimillion-dollar windfall was part of more than $1.7 billion doled out for airport infrastructure across the country by the FAA, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday. Boise followed Denver International Airport as a top recipient of the funds.
In total, Idaho received nearly $87 million, according to a news release from the FAA.
Boise airport continues upgrades as growth takes off
Boise’s airport has pursued a number of improvements in recent years, as its passenger traffic has skyrocketed 81% over the past decade, surpassing 5 million travelers in 2025, according to the city. In 2023, the airport opened the gates of a $30 million, five-level parking garage, then estimated to expand the airport’s parking capacity by 50%.
In February 2024, work began on a new rental car facility with a seven-level garage and later a car wash and fueling stations, estimated to cost over $100 million, the Statesman reported.
Last year, the airport added a number of new restaurants and shops in its first concession overhaul in a decade.
And Boise-area travelers keen on changes at the airport ought to keep an eye on Micron as well. The memory-chip manufacturing giant is in the midst of a $50 billion expansion in Southeast Boise, and has announced plans to build an aircraft hangar at the airport, where it would store its corporate jets.
City officials said in late May that the airport would widen one of its taxiways to accommodate “larger” aircraft at Micron’s hangar.
This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Boise Airport gets $74M from feds for upgrades as growth takes off. What’s coming."
