Ticket to a Better BGR

Ticket to a Better BGR

2024 introduces a new chapter at Bangor International Airport (BGR), where we’re making big changes for safer and smoother travel.

The Need for Change

Our primary runway has come to the end of its useful life, and it’s time for an upgrade. We’ve patched things up in the past, but now we need a permanent fix to keep everyone flying safely and efficiently.

The Road to Renovation

In 2023, our first attempt to secure the future of our runway was met with unexpected challenges. With an estimated budget of $32 million for the project, we received a single bid that doubled our financial expectations, coming in at $64 million.

Adapting our strategy, we entered 2024 with a refined project scope that better aligned with the essential runway work.

Our diligence was reflected in an engineer’s estimate that evolved from $34.7 million to a pre-bid revision of $41.6 million. Yet, the sole bid we received, while closer to our expectations, was still above our estimates at $46.9 million.

Support All Around

The bid presented a new challenge, but also an opportunity to highlight the incredible support from our partners:

  • Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Contributing $27.4 million.
  • Maine Air National Guard (MEANG): Providing $16.4 million.
  • Maine Department of Transportation (Maine DOT) and Bangor International Airport: Each offering $1.5 million.

Despite the bid coming in $11 million over our initially budgeted Capital Improvement Plan, the increase to our local share was a manageable $400,000, raising it to $1.5 million. This local share is proudly funded by airport-generated revenue, a testament to our self-sustaining commitment and the support of our community and users.

What’s Next

This project is more than a runway renovation; it’s a promise to our community, passengers, and partners that BGR will continue to soar as a gateway to the world, grounded in safety, innovation, and resilience.

Runway Project

Runway 15-33 Construction Begins

Terminal Connector Project

Although not impactful to aircraft schedules, passengers will soon see additional construction beginning post-security in the domestic terminal.

This $14.2 million renovation and reconstruction project is federally funded and designed to enhance the passenger experience while providing much-needed additional gate space at BGR by connecting the domestic and international terminals located post-security.

While procurement for this project has begun, passengers can expect to see construction beginning in April 2024 and lasting approximately 18 months.

 

Parking Lot Extension
Passenger traffic numbers have increased more than 30% in the last 5 years at BGR.

During the months of November through May, BGR has experienced significant issues with passenger vehicle overflow in the current designated airport parking lots. For the past 2 years, the shuttle lot, which is utilized for peak season passenger vehicle overflow, has gone beyond its capacity forcing BGR to find additional lot space that is not designated, designed nor maintained for the purpose of housing vehicles.

Our consultants recently completed an in-depth review, construction layout and design blue print as well as an estimate for a newly constructed parking lot, which is located adjacent to Godfrey Boulevard. The newly constructed parking lot will allow an added capacity of approximately 800 parking spaces and has an estimated construction cost of $6.5 million.

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