Fargo Airport Parking Ramp Looks Like Another Boondoggle
In 2019, the Fargo Airport Authority asked the legislature to allow it to tax Uber and Lyft rides due to "declining demand for parking". Now, they are planning to spend $43 million on a parking ramp.
It was reported today that the Fargo Airport Authority approved a $43 million parking ramp for Hector International Airport:
The Fargo Municipal Airport Authority Board voted unanimously on Tuesday, Dec. 12, to proceed with building a 977-stall, four-level ramp that will be connected to the terminal via a skyway.
Construction is scheduled to begin in April and to take 12 to 14 months.
The ramp is expected to cost $43 million and the skyway $4 million. The Airport Board also has approved improvements of $155 million to expand and remodel the terminal at Hector, a project that will add four boarding gates, almost doubling the airport's size, as well as increase space for security and passengers waiting to board flights.
The financing plan does not call for any city tax dollars, but will draw $20 million from the Airport Authority’s $50 million reserve fund and tap a $23.3 million low-interest infrastructure loan from the Bank of North Dakota, said John Cosgriff, the board’s chairman.
This $4…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to North Dakota's Watchdog Update to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.