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Boise Airport Braces For Big Expansion

CREDIT KYLE GREEN / IDAHO STATESMAN
Over the next five years, the Boise Airport will relocate its rental car area to make way for a new concourse. The multi-million dollar project will also bring two new parking structures to the facility.

People flying through the Boise Airport can expect to see some big changes to the facility in the coming years. The five-year project to upgrade the facility could get underway as soon as this fall.

The first thing the plan deals with is parking. Some paved areas around the airport will be rehabilitated in preparation for building two parking garages. One will be for passengers, the other for employees who currently have to park at a variety of lots around the airport.

Eventually, all of the rental car lots will be relocated to the east side of the airport to make room for Concourse A.

“Concourse A will make room for six additional gates, half of which will be used for regional jets, and the other half will be used for mainliners – the aircraft that are holding upwards of 170 to 200 passengers,” says Sean Briggs, the marketing manager for the Boise Airport.

He says while the concourse is being built to initially accommodate six more gates, it will be able to expand as the airport – and the Treasure Valley – keep growing.

“2018 was a record year,” Briggs happily declares. “We had nearly 3.9 million passengers. We’re growing around 10 to 11 percent year-over-year, which is about twice as fast as the national average. So we know that these projects need to get started.”

No local taxpayer dollars will go toward funding the expansion. Briggs says money from facility charges and some federal grants will subsidize construction. The estimated total cost of the project is between $150 million and $200 million.

For more local news, follow the KBSX newsroom on Twitter @KBSX915

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