The FAA this week announced it authorized a $27 million Airport Improvement Program grant to the city of Williston, N.D., to purchase land to build a new airport, which will eventually replace Sloulin Field. North Dakota is America’s second-largest oil-producing state, and drilling operations have provided a boost to the local economy along with traffic to the airport.
According to the agency, from 2008 to 2014, passenger enplanements at Sloulin increased from 10,894 to 114,281, with more growth expected. The AIP grant will help fund the purchase of 1,540 acres of land for the new airport. The transaction is expected to close next summer, with construction to commence soon after, as the FAA has already completed its environmental assessment and found no significant concerns.
Upon its anticipated opening in 2018, the new gateway will be called Williston Basin International Airport (XWA). Total cost for the project, the first replacement airport to be funded in the U.S. since Utah’s St. George Municipal in 2011, is estimated to be $254 million, with future funding from the city of Williston, the state and possible additional FAA grants.