Airport ready to embark on new terminal

Years of planning and $82 million in fundraising led to Wednesday’s event at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport, where the airport held a ceremonial groundbreaking for its new terminal.

The new 42,000-square-foot terminal is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. It will be nearly five times larger than the current 8,700-square-foot terminal and have a parking lot three times bigger than the existing one, said Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson at Wednesday’s ceremony.

Johnson, who is the chairperson of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport Board, thanked the partners and stakeholders involved in making the project a reality.

“Here we have the right people, the right time, the right stuff,” Johnson said. “We’re doing the right thing for the Palouse because this is our front door to the Palouse.”

The $82 million covers the cost of the building, apron, stormwater infrastructure and the parking lot.

Board member Jon Kimberling said the airport did not take on any debt to build the terminal. It has been made possible with federal funding and contributions form local partners such as the cities of Moscow and Pullman, Washington State University, University of Idaho, and Latah and Whitman counties.

“We’re not located on a waterway, we’re not located on a freeway,” Kimberling said. “This is our key piece of transportation infrastructure. It is going to do so much for our community.”

Just in the past month, Congress awarded $11.8 million for the terminal and $5 million to improve walking and biking access on the adjacent Airport Road. Representatives from the offices of Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash; Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash; Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash; and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, attended Wednesday’s event.

Wednesday’s groundbreaking occurred nearly three years after the airport officially opened its new runway. Both the new terminal and runway are meant to accommodate bigger planes and an expected increase in flyers.

“Obviously, this new terminal is beyond needed, not only to accommodate the current passenger load but anticipated passenger loads going forward and the advent of perhaps more than one airline servicing the area,” said Moscow Mayor Art Bettge, who serves as vice chair of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport Board.

Airport Director Tony Bean said the airport is important to supporting local commerce, such as agriculture, technology and research.

“Everything that is produced here is global,” he said. “And it needs to be able to hit the market. People need to have that kind of connectivity.”

More broadly, it is meant to benefit everyone that calls the Palouse home, he said.

“We care about people’s quality of life,” Bean said. “That’s why we do all of this.”

The design and construction of the terminal and apron are being handled by Mead and Hunt, M.A. DeAtley Construction and Hoffman Construction.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.