Grand Forks International Airport is 'poised for the future' as it opens crosswind runway

Oct. 16—GRAND FORKS — The recently reconstructed and extended crosswind runway at Grand Forks International Airport will allow the airport to maintain operations as one of the busiest airports in the country, all while preparing it for a primary runway reconstruction project.

Elected leaders, airport officials and business leaders came out Wednesday morning to celebrate the completion of the new runway. The nearly $70 million project has been on the airport's radar since the 1990s, but gained steam in 2015 during the airport's master planning process. Construction and project work, including the

realignment of Country Road 5 on the airport's western edge,

has been occurring since the Federal Aviation Administration gave approval to the project in 2019.

"These projects are generational projects and they take years to be able to complete," Airport Authority Executive Director Ryan Riesinger said. "(This runway) will certainly meet our needs, not only during the reconstruction of the primary runway, but it will also improve safety, efficiency and capacity for our airport for many years to come."

The project extended the crosswind runway, officially known as Runway 9L/27R, by 2,500 feet westward, making it 6,700 feet long. It also reconstructed the corresponding taxiways and the intersection of this runway and the airport's main runway, a process that took 12 days of round-the-clock work to minimize disruptions. The total project was funded with over $50 million in federal funds, $8.7 million from the state and $10.7 million from the the city of Grand Forks and

Grand Forks County, mostly through the mills its levies.

"This runway is much needed because this is one of the top 25 busiest airports in the United States," Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, said during his speech Wednesday. "Occasionally, I was gazing over (prior to taking the podium) and I tell you, helicopters, three or four planes taking off, landing all the time, nonstop. That tells you why this is a big deal."

Dean of UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, Robert Kraus, said it actually was a quiet day for students at the airport.

"We actually restricted flying operations today to let the FAA do their job and get the runway fully open," Kraus said. "It's an amazing feat of work to get this done as quick as it did, but even more so how efficient it was and how little of an impact it had on the operations at this airport."

As one of the busiest airports in the country and the busiest in the state for take-offs and landings, Kyle Wanner, executive director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, said Grand Forks is integral to North Dakota.

"Over the last decade, our airport system has just turned into something incredible," Wanner said. "We have a lot of work left to do, but our citizens should be proud of the airport system that they have in place and the work that's being done in the background."

This expansion, along with projects coming up like the construction of a new air traffic control tower and expansion of UND's air traffic controller program and other aviation programs, are leading Grand Forks into the future, according to local and state leaders.

"We're busy because we're busy building the future of

aviation and building it from the ground up,"

Hoeven said. "Air traffic controllers on the ground, pilots on fixed wing, rotary wing, and now we're working in space. So things are just going to get bigger."

Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski also spoke during Wednesday's ceremony, saying this is just one of many exciting things happening in the city.

"You've got a

brand new hospital in Altru,

you have the

Air Force Base poised for the future

, you've got UND poised for the future, you've got the airport (now) poised for the future," Bochenski said. "Grand Forks is poised for the future."

The ceremony was attended by several dozen guests, who took a bus from the terminal to a spot actually on the runway. During the event, the dignitaries and speakers cut a ribbon to mark the runway's opening, and then invited the guests to take a group photo, with the photographer hoisted on a mechanical lift.