Boise Airport is working to make it easier to get to your flight. Here’s how.
As with the rest of the Treasure Valley, the Boise Airport has been growing rapidly in recent years, as ridership increases. Now, airport officials plan expansions to accommodate the increase in people.
The Boise City Council has unanimously approved two bonds for construction of two parking garages, one for passengers and one for employees, to offset congestion.
Kathleen Watkins, the airport’s deputy finance director, told councilors Tuesday that the current parking garage for passengers doesn’t have enough stalls and that many air travelers have to be shuttled from a different lot.
The new passenger garage is planned to have five levels, consisting of 1,150 parking stalls across 410,000 square feet. The employee parking garage would have more than 700 stalls, Watkins said.
Airports across the country, including Boise, saw a large dip in ridership during the COVID-19 pandemic, but flyers have steadily increased as more Americans get vaccinated. That has airport officials optimistic they could even surpass some 2019 passenger counts as more people fly for the first time in months.
“We wouldn’t be shocked in July if we actually exceed the total number of passengers that we saw in July 2019,” Business Development Manager Sean Briggs said in a phone interview Friday.
The Boise Airport’s growth has been several years in the making. The Federal Aviation Administration in June reclassified the airport as a “medium hub” because of its increased air traffic. It was the 61st busiest airport in the nation in 2020.
Plans for new garages had been underway in 2019, Watkins said, but the pandemic halted them. Now, contract bids for the project are planned to go out later in the summer.
Construction costs for the passenger garage are estimated not to exceed $35 million and the employee garage $22 million. Bonds would be sold to raise that money. The bonds would paid off at 3% to 4% interest for up to 30 years. Airport revenues will be used to fund them, meaning no taxpayer funds will be used, Watkins said.
“The additional parking space is going to be a passenger amenity ... the ability to park close and be able to walk directly to the terminal,” Briggs said.
The new garages are estimated to be completed by 2023.
▪ The Boise Airport has nonstop destinations to 12 of the 20 most populated metro areas in the nation. Which of the eight metro areas not on the list would you like to see added? Vote in our survey, or follow this link if you don’t see it below.
This story was originally published July 17, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
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