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10/02/06
Work begins on a project to
upgrade curbside facilities
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Work begins today on a project to upgrade
curbside facilities and enhance customer service at the Grand
Forks International Airport passenger terminal. The project
replaces the aging roadway in front of the building providing
better access for vehicles and pedestrians. It also creates
slightly raised crosswalks and a new 2-hour free drop-off
parking area. The drop-off area is expected to reduce the total
number of vehicles operating immediately in front of the
terminal. Steve Johnson, Executive Director of the Grand Forks
Regional Airport Authority indicates the project will take
approximately 45 days to complete. Opp Construction was the low
bidder on the approximately $450,000 project. Ulteig Engineers
designed the project. "As with any construction occurring while
a facility remains in use, it will be important for the public
to watch for and follow the guidance and direction signs."
Johnson said. "We've tried to minimize the impact to our users
and anticipate and accommodate where there might be confusion."
If the project proceeds as expected all work will be complete
prior to the busy holiday travel season. |
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09/15/06
Wetland Mitigation Project on
Track |
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Three weeks into the project the
contractor is making excellent progress in eliminating a 13-acre
wetland adjacent to Runway 35L-17R. The wetland is being
filled as a wildlife hazard mitigation measure, eliminating it
as a bird attractant. As part of its ND Fish and Game
approved mitigation plan, the Authority is funding creation of a
replacement wetland near Churches Ferry, ND.
Photos here. |
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09/12/06
GFK Cooks compete in the Chili
Cook-off |
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The Friends of the Greenway hosted
a Chili Cook-off as part of the Cats Incredible
Celebration last month. The Authority sponsored a chili
booth where four of our best cooks competed for prizes.
Last year the group came away with several honors, but were
not as lucky this year. Nevertheless, we thought their chili
was the best, and everyone had a great time.
A belated "Thank You" goes to the guys who participated
- Rick Audette, Mike Peterson, Doug Kamrowski and Lee DeLisle.
Click for some great photos! |
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08/31/06
Sneaky Pete Nabbed...Again |
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UND Maintenance/Line Training
Manager Mike Agotness is $25 richer because of his security
awareness. Mike challenged and detained Sneaky Pete
yesterday on Charlie Apron. Sneaky Pete, the brainchild of
UND Special Projects Coordinator Frank Argenziano, is a UND
Aerospace program encouraging students, flight instructors, and
staff to be on the lookout for unauthorized or unbadged persons
on its aviation ramps. Argenziano periodically arranges
for a subject to fill the role of Sneaky Pete and wander the UND
aviation area until apprehended. |
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08/24/06
Noisemakers in full operation! |
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During the last several days
airport users and tenants have experienced a series of
intermittent loud "booms". The noise is created by propane
cannons especially designed to deter birds from runways and
taxiways. Flocks of Barn Swallows numbering in the
hundreds are the most recent challenge. The cannons do not
fire projectiles, they create controlled gas explosions at timed
intervals. Concentrations of birds at an airport can prove
hazardous to aviation if struck inflight or if ingested into jet
engines. The airport's FAA-approved Wildlife Hazard
Management Plan specifies use of noisemakers as one of several
available control measures. |
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08/23/06
IT'S NOT SNOW! |
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What you see on the ground in the
photograph is not snow, it's aqueous film forming foam (AFFF).
Crash/fire/rescue personnel recently performed annual testing on
the airport's firefighting vehicles to insure the proper mixture
of water and foam will be dispensed if needed in an aircraft
emergency. The foam is non-toxic, non-corrosive and
biodegradable. Click the photo to enlarge. |
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08/15/06
Taxiway A reopens after repair. |
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Opp Construction made quick work of
recent pavement repairs on Taxiway A. The failed segment
of 19" thick concrete was removed and replaced in only two days.
This taxiway segment was reopened to aircraft last Thursday
morning after lab testing indicated the concrete had achieved
necessary strength. Click here
for a series of photos. |
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08/07/06
Authority Receives Federal
Grant for $1.8 million. |
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The Authority has received a
federal grant for $1.8 million under the FAA Airport Improvement
Program. The grant will assist in funding several major
capital improvement projects - mitigating and filling a wetland
near the runways, phase 2 of both the master plan update and
environmental assessment for a fourth runway, upgrade of the
security access system, and purchase of a foreign object debris
(FOD) pavement sweeper.
Click the graphic at left for detail. |
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08/04/06
Wildlife hazard being
mitigated. |
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On July 31st the Authority opened
bids on a project to fill a 13-acre wetland near its main
runway. The wetland was inadvertently created in the
1970's when thousands of cubic yards of dirt were taken from the
site and used in a project to lengthen the main runway.
The wetland now attracts birds and other wildlife which can be
hazardous to aircraft operations. Closure of the wetland
is specified in the airport's Wildlife Hazard Management Plan
required by the FAA. Zavoral and Sons Inc. of East Grand
Forks was low bidder on the fill project. Total cost of
the mitigation including the necessary environmental assessment
study and purchase of land and creation of replacement wetlands
off the airport is approximately $1.3 million. Work on the
project will be complete by the end of the year. Click the
photo for details. |
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08/04/06
Authority Adopts Land Use
Plan. |
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At its July 20th meeting the
Authority Board of Commissioners formally adopted a land use
plan for Grand Forks International Airport. The plan was
prepared with the help of Mead & Hunt and Kadrmas Lee & Jackson,
airport consultants. The document makes recommendations to
zoning jurisdictions relating to appropriate use of land
surrounding the airport. The Plan takes into consideration
the issues of safety, noise, frequent over-flight, and
obstructions to flight. The permanent link to view the
Plan can be found on our Documents web page.
View
the Plan here. |
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07/27/06
Airport fuel farm catwalk
installation is complete. |
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The new fuel farm "catwalk"
installation is complete. The raised walkway
with stairs and guardrail system will improve safety for fuel
farm users. It will facilitate access to fuel tank valves
and topside tank components. In the photo Sand Steel
workers are lowering a section of walkway into place.
Click the photo to enlarge. |
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06/12/06
GFK Maintenance now operates a new
sweeper.
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Just delivered
- of a state of the art FOD sweeper! This unit will be
used to sweep debris from our runways, aprons and taxiways.
It is our first brand new sweeper after having used military
surplus sweeper equipment for many years. |
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04/26/06
GFK finally welcomes it's new grader/snow
remover.
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Just delivered this week - a
new and larger piece of snow removal equipment. This new Cat 14H
motor grader will be replacing a 1977 JD 770, enhancing the
airport's ability to perform snow removal operations.
Click the photo to enlarge. |
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03/01/06
Master plan update and land use compatibility progresses.
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Alignment of a fourth runway is a
major element of Phase I of the master plan update.
Engineers from Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson and Mead & Hunt have
studied the various alternatives and so far have determined the
best location for the fourth runway is just west of the adjacent
salvage yards. They have also been meeting with city planners
to discuss land use and zoning near the
airport. See details by clicking the graphic. |
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11/22/06
Terminal curbfront and new drop-off parking are
now open
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Ribbon
Cutting
Finished
Project
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The reconstructed passenger terminal
curbfront and new drop-off parking area are now open.
Authority staff and guests cut the ribbon celebrating completion
on Wednesday, November 22nd. Most notably, the $450,000
project converted half of the short-term parking lot into a
convenient 34-space drop-off and pick-up area with 2-hour free
parking. It also replaced the deteriorating roadway
surface and sloping curbs, improved stormwater drainage, and
created raised crosswalks. Ulteig Engineers and Opp
Construction teamed up to make the project a reality. |
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09/05/06
UND Airport Aviation
Facilities Sport New Signage |
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UND recently installed some great
new signage at their airport facilities.
Click here for
a closer look! |
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08/15/06
ND Aeronautic Commission
releases airport economic impact data. |
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The North Dakota Aeronautics
Commission recently released airport economic data. The
Grand Forks International Airport and local aviation businesses
create $110 million in economic activity annually.
Approximately 1,900 direct and indirect jobs are linked to
aviation.
Click
here
to view the details. |
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08/10/06
Authority receives Small
Community Air Service grant of $350,000. |
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The Authority was advised today by
the US Department of Transportation that it is the recipient of
a Small Community Air Service development grant in the amount of
$350,000. The grant will be used consistent with the
Authority's application to improve service to Grand Forks by
Northwest Airlines and/or attract a second air carrier to the
market. The Authority will partner with the City of Grand
Forks, Grand Forks County, and GFK Flight Support in determining
how the grant funds will be employed.
Click here
to view the grant award. |
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07/21/06
GFK and Republic Parking announce paid
parking lot enhancement.
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The long term parking lot entrance
is now equipped with ticket-in/credit card-out (TICO)
capability. This system allows patrons who take a ticket
when they enter the parking lot to either pay inside the
terminal building or pay with a credit card (VISA,
MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card) at the exit
point. This allows credit card users to bypass the
Republic cashier inside the building. The current ability
to enter the long term lot by inserting a credit card and exit
the long term lot by inserting the same credit card has been
retained. Those using cash or checks will still need to
pay for parking at the cashier in the terminal. Click the
photo to enlarge. |
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05/12/06
Design plans provided for a new passenger
terminal.
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As part of the ongoing airport
master plan study, consultants have provided a proposed location
and building schematic design for the new passenger terminal.
The facility would be located in the 20-acre open area north of
the existing FedEx complex on the west side of Airport Drive.
Construction on the $20+ million project could begin as early as
2009. Click the graphic at left to view details. |
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04/13/06
Business workstations have been added to
the secured area.
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Visitors to our secured area may
have noticed some minor renovation during the past couple of
weeks. The four infrequently used pay phone booths have now been
converted into business work stations. Travelers waiting
to board their flights can now sit comfortably at our convenient
and well lit work station area where they can plug in and use
their laptops. The walls surrounding this work station area
feature several aerial photographs of the Grand Forks airport,
dating all the way back to the 1930's. Those who need to
place calls from a telephone can use the nearby courtesy phone
which handles local and toll free numbers.
Click the photos at left to enlarge.
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03/15/06
Complimentary coffee and rolls while you wait to
board the first flight.
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Passengers Myranda Young and
Trenton Brakke are among early travelers who can now enjoy fresh
coffee and rolls while they wait to board the early morning
flight. The coffee and rolls are compliments of the Grand
Forks Regional Airport Authority, whose hope is to make the 5:00
a.m. flight more pleasant for our loyal customers.
The Crosswinds Restaurant opens at 6:30 for the travelers on
later flights, offering hot breakfast sandwiches, freshly baked
rolls, steaming hot coffee and much more!. |
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03/01/06
The airfield surface condition reports are now available online.
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Starting today, the Grand Forks
Regional Airport Authority offers this website as their primary
resource for the most recent airfield surface condition reports.
Our Operations and Maintenance staff take great pride in their
ability to keep the airfield runways and taxiways safe and clear
for the hundreds of aircraft that use this airport on a daily
basis. During inclement weather, we regularly update these
online reports which are critical to the air traffic control
tower and airport users. The Airfield Conditions link is
located under the Airport Information tab. |
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03/01/06
New! Free wireless Internet access |
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Grand Forks International Airport
provides travelers and guests free Internet access through the
airport's wireless system. This service is provided
throughout the airport terminal building. Patrons can
utilize a properly configured laptop, personal digital assistant
or other device that is wireless compatible and able to connect
to the Web. The airport suggests using a computer running one of
the newer versions of Windows or MAC operating systems and newer
versions of Palm Handhelds, Pocket PCs or other portable
devices. |
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