Bismarck Airport Adds New Snow Removal Equipment Facility

Amid the angst, upheaval and tragedy that COVID-19 unleashed, there were also isolated slivers of opportunity. One of those rare instances occurred at Bismarck Airport (BIS) in North Dakota.

Airport Director Greg Haug knew his staff needed a bigger building for its snow removal equipment. At the time, vehicles and attachments were housed in three separate facilities, and the airfield maintenance department was still running out of room. But the airport had other capital improvement priorities.

“For example, we were getting ready to expand our terminal in 2020 when the pandemic hit,” Haug says. “After experiencing a dramatic drop in passenger traffic, we shelved the terminal expansion, and proceeded to make plans to build a new snow removal equipment storage building.”

The new 40,000-square-foot building has enough room to store all of the airport’s snow removal equipment under one roof (see the below), and also includes a maintenance station and separate vehicle wash area.

facts&figures Project: New Snow Removal Equipment Building Location: Bismarck Airport, in ND Size: 40,000 sq. ft. Cost: $19 million ($10.5 million for building; $8.5 million for site improvements) Funding: FAA grants; CARES Act disbursements; ND Aeronautics Commission state funds; airport funds Project Timeline: Architect & engineer hired in Feb. & March 2022; construction bids issued & received Aug. 2022; construction April 2023-Feb. 2024 Architectural Design: Übl Design Group Consulting Engineer: KLJ Engineering Prime General Contractor: Northern Improvement Building Contractor: Capital City Construction Prime Electrical Contractor: Edling Electric Prime Mechanical Contractor: Cofell Plumbing & Heating Steel Manufacturer: Nucor Benefits: Larger facility can store all snow removal equipment in same building, with room for maintenance & wash areas; new site provides maintenance personnel better view of airfield to evaluate snow conditions

Funding for the $19 million project included: 2½ years of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding from 2022 to 2024; Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) funds; a grant from the ND Aeronautics Commission; and airport funds. “The BIL and CARES Act funds really made the project possible. We were very fortunate how all the funding came together,” Haug says.

Once funding was in place, the airport executed its architect’s contract in February 2022 and its engineering firm’s contract in March 2022. Construction bids were then sent out and received in August 2022.

Division of Duties

Because the airport hired Übl Design Group and KLJ Engineering to work on the project simultaneously, it was imperative that their responsibilities were clearly defined. Each company already had a five-year contract with BIS, and both are currently in the middle of those contracts.

“This was the first project in which we collaborated, so when we started planning, we decided right away the boundaries and scope for each company. A line was drawn dividing up the responsibilities,” states Jeff Ubl, president of Übl Design Group. “From 7 feet away from the building perimeter, KLJ was responsible. From 7 feet in, our company was in charge. Basically, Übl had architectural oversight of the whole building, while KLJ handled site improvements, including utilities, apron, new access roads, parking, fencing and security.”

The firms worked together on some assignments, such as electrical design, creating bid documents and site selection. They also collaborated on change orders, although KLJ had final responsibility to submit those to the FAA for approval. Because KLJ specializes in the aviation industry, it was also responsible for overall program and grant management, including all interactions with the FAA.

The need for a new storage facility was getting more and more obvious, says Tom Neigum, a senior project manager with KLJ Engineering. “The old building was too small; it had already been updated several times. The doors were undersized. In fact, the airport maintenance people sometimes had to remove attachments to get some of the plows into the existing building,” he explains.

The new facility has room for all of the airport’s snow removal equipment, with six storage bays. Each has a door on opposite ends, so vehicles can enter through one and exit through the other.

All of the deicing equipment, plus liquid runway deicer and sand inventory, can fit inside the new building. In the past, liquid deicer and some other materials had to be stored outside, subject to the elements.

The location of the previous building also was not ideal. “It was tucked back, away from the taxiways and runways,” Neigum explains. “The new building is located at the west side of the airfield right off the taxiways, and provides the maintenance crew with a better line of sight of the conditions on the airfield.”

When researching the new location, KLJ performed an airspace line-of-sight study for the FAA. It helped determined that the building could be 28 feet high and not obstruct the view of air traffic controllers.

Ubl describes the structure of the building itself as relatively straightforward. “We laid out the footprint, covering the location and sizes of the doors, and included specifications for the roof materials, thickness of the walls, colors and other items.”

The main component of the building was pre-engineered steel from Nucor, cut to the architects’ specifications. “We basically ordered a kit of parts,” says Ubl. “The only drawback was that we had to wait for all of the parts to be delivered so we could start on the shell of the building.”

Better Crew Quarters

The new snow removal equipment building includes improved accommodations for airfield maintenance workers. There are five beds, so they can take a break at the airport and get some sleep during longer snow events.

The break room includes a microwave, refrigerator and kitchen table. “Everything is self-contained,” says Haug. There are showers in the men’s and women’s bathrooms.

Accommodations for airfield maintenance workers include beds.

The new equipment facility also includes improved quarters for maintenance crews.

Challenges Overcome

Harsh weather delayed construction because Bismarck received near-record amounts of snow during winter 2022/2023. The area also had the longest period with at least 8 inches of snow on the ground and broke several other weather records. By mid-April 2023, a significant amount of snow still covered the jobsite, so the contractor used bulldozers to push snow out of the way.

“Fortunately, the weather in fall 2023 was much better, and the main shell of the building was done before the winter of 2023/2024,” says Neigum. “We had a tight schedule; we had to send two close-out reports to the FAA by early May 2024 in order to get the grant money. We were able to finish those by April—a month early.”

Procurement issues caused another slight hiccup. “Getting a few electrical components held us up a bit toward the end of the project. They came in well after the shell was completed. We were able to work around that to stay on schedule,” Ubl affirms.

Meetings were held throughout the project to inform stakeholders about the status of construction. Attendees usually included representatives from KLJ, Übl, the airport, air traffic control, FAA local office, North Dakota Aeronautics Commission and the local Fire Department.

Ready for Winter

The impending 2024/2025 winter seems less intimidating with the new snow removal equipment building complete. By design, it will increase the airport’s efficiency to tackle the snowy, icy weather that invariably comes through Bismarck.

“It will be nice to have all of our equipment under one roof,” Haug declares. “There is now room to store even larger snowplows. We recently purchased a 30-foot-wide Henke box plow and loader combo. Until now, we only had 22- and 24-foot blades. We plan to use the new box plow to clear snow from the large apron used by commercial airlines. We expect it to work great.”

With the building’s new location, there is also space for future expansion. “We have room to build another storage building just east of our new one, but that will be several years down the road. Based on the FAA snow removal equipment calculation sheet, we are eligible for up to 27 pieces of various equipment. We only have 12 right now,” Haug explains.

“This SRE [snow removal equipment] building is really important to us,” he concludes. “We have a dedicated staff that works hard to keep the airport open during all kinds of winter weather, and this building will make their jobs easier and more efficient.”