U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg touted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Montana projects it helped fund during a visit to the Missoula Montana Airport on Monday.
“I’m proud to support the expansion of this airport with $41 million and counting,” he said.
Grants from the bipartisan bill are a huge part of paying for the project, which will cost more than $100 million, said Airport Director Brian Ellestad. The airport received other state and federal grants and obtained local financing through First Security Bank, he said.
Construction wrapped up in 2022 on the $64.6 million first phase of the project, which included renovation of the check-in and screening areas, concessions, restrooms, expanded gates and boarding areas, according to the airport.
The expansion improved the airport’s layout, made unwieldy by previous smaller renovations, Ellestad said. The project’s second phase will expand the baggage claim, add a rental car center and four more gates, he said. The third phase will convert one ground boarding gate to a jet bridge, Ellestad added.
The $42 million second phase should wrap up in about a year, with the final phase completed eight months after that, Ellestad said.
Addressing a crowd of Missoula officials, Buttigieg said previous upgrades to the airport’s terminal buildings, which date back to 1948, did not match the community’s growth.
Before the expansion project, the airport’s size and layout constrained the number of visitors and drove up ticket prices, creating challenges for Missoula and the region, Buttigieg said.
“It’s clear there has been a need for growth and expansion,” he said. “The leaders gathered here, and others, had a plan to fix that.”
Buttigieg praised U.S. Sen. Jon Tester for his work on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which wouldn’t have been possible without leaders willing to work across the aisle, he said. Tester was one of 10 Democrats and Republicans who helped craft the package in 2021.
Since the renovation, the airport has expanded flights, helping drive ticket costs down, Buttigieg said.
In February, the airport announced Frontier Airlines will add a new flight from Missoula to Phoenix, along with returning its seasonal service to Denver. Last fall, Sun Country announced plans to provide nonstop flights from Missoula to Minneapolis beginning in June. Ellestad said he expects airfares to continue to drop and be competitive.
Last year, more than 913,000 visitors passed through the airport, breaking its previous passenger record. That growth is on track to continue this year, Ellestad said.
Buttigieg highlighted other local transportation projects that received federal funding, including $2.9 million to replace the Lolo Street Bridge, $24 million to upgrade U.S. Highway 200 through East Missoula and $25 million for safety and mobility projects in downtown Missoula.
Montana transportation projects have received $2.4 billion from the bipartisan bill, Buttigieg said. The higher level of federal funding is needed to correct the mismatch between project needs and available money, he said.
The projects that have received funding in Montana and nationwide were not invented by the federal department but were brought by the community, Buttigieg said
“Our approach is ideas shouldn’t come from Washington (D.C.), funding should,” he said.
The infrastructure program aims to balance “shovel-ready” projects with longer-term “shovel-worthy” projects, providing more than just a “sugar high” for the economy, Buttigieg told reporters.
Buttigieg said the program must work for small communities and urged those communities to approach the department for specific resources.
“More projects are seeking funding than we can do,” he said. “We’re funding more because seeing dollars put to use can lead to an appetite for more funding in Washington.”
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