Rapid City Regional Airport Looks to Future Expansion Plans

Apr. 28—The Rapid City Regional Airport Board of Directors heard an extensive presentation Tuesday on the airport's master plan for continued growth over the next two decades.

The proposed plan was presented by Matt Nisbet and other consultants from KLJ Engineering, who were tasked to re-evaluate facility needs at the airport considering the significant growth that is expected as tourists begin traveling back to the Black Hills and Rapid City's population continues to grow.

The consultants identified key facility needs with the age of the airport's main runway and constraints to the commercial terminal. No decisions were made Tuesday on the proposed changes, as it was a discussion only with the Airport Board. It will take several years to implement if the Board decides to move forward.

The 8,700-feet runway was last resurfaced in 1997, airport Executive Director Patrick Dame said, and is beginning to show its age. Nisbet said the runway will likely need to be reconstructed in the next 10 years.

If the runway were to be reconstructed in its existing location, the estimated cost would be approximately $55 million, Nisbet said, which would mostly be paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration grant program. However, the reconstruction would take two to three "construction seasons" to complete. Because of South Dakota's winter weather, the construction season is from late spring through early fall and would require extensive airport closures for the work to be completed.

That wouldn't work well for Rapid City, as the summer tourist season is the busiest time at the airport, Nisbet said.

"Your airport plays a vital role in the region and if it was shut down for multiple construction seasons, which is tourism season, it would be a very significant issue," he said.

Another option that the airport could take is the construction of a new main runway to the east of the existing one. The existing runway would be converted to a taxiway, which would increase developable space at airport.

Nisbet presented three options for a new runway, costing between $70 million and $80 million. The FAA grant program would cover most of the cost.

The airport terminal was last expanded in 2012 with the addition of 12,000 square feet of space, one new gate and an expanded security screening area for the Transportation Security Area. Dame said even with seven boarding gates and two TSA security lines, the terminal sees capacity issues during August, the busiest month at the airport.

"We are hitting the limits of the existing facility in the summer. We are hitting them," he said. "There are areas of the airport that we are exceeding, especially in the baggage area."

Dame called the behind-the-scenes baggage area where luggage is taken from the ticket counters, examined for security and then brought to waiting aircraft as the airport's "Achilles heel."

The proposed terminal expansion would add three to five new boarding gates, increase the TSA area from two to three lines and increase the baggage handling area by 20,000 square feet. The passenger-facing areas of the terminal would be eligible for FAA grants to help with the cost, but the behind-the-scenes baggage area most likely would not be eligible for grant funding, Dame said.

As the airport gears up for the summer season, Dame said the capacity issues will be more evident to passengers, rather than those who travel during the off season.

"If they're not there two hours in advance, there might be a chance that they are going to be in a line too long to be able to get through security to make their flight," Dame said. "You're going to see us telling people in advance to get to the airport early, especially as we get to these August dates."

Contact Nathan Thompson at [email protected].

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