Staff recommends that the City Council approve and award the low bid of $6,169,295.00 provided by Askin Construction for the Runway 7/25 Reconstruction and Extension Project.

Included in the Airport's Capital Improvement Program and FY 25/26 budget is funding to reconstruct and extend Runway 7/25.  Runway (RWY) 7/25 is the only crosswind runway at the Airport and was originally built in 1991.  Although this runway was rehabilitated in 2007 by removing and replacing the top 2 inches of asphalt, RWY 7/25 has exceeded its useful life and needs to be replaced.  The existing base course material is over 30 years old recycled asphalt millings that have failed and created large longitudinal and transverse cracks in the pavement surface, which is a safety hazard for aircraft.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also identified that the end of RWY 7 intersects the general aviation RWY 10R/28L and no longer meets airfield geometry safety standards.  This project will resolve both of these problems by removing and replacing the asphalt surface full depth including the base course material.  The end of RWY 7 will be relocated so it no longer intersects RWY 10R/28L and the overall length will increase from 5,501 feet to 6,310 feet allowing larger and heavier aircraft to operate on it.  Specifically, 34,385 square yards of runway asphalt will be removed and replaced; 60,000 cubic yards of dirt/rock will be excavated to extend RWY 7; 70,000 cubic yards of fill will be added for the RWY 25 extension and 11,100 square yards of asphalt paving will occur to build a new connector taxiway.  Additionally, all of the incandescent runway lighting and informational signs will be replaced with new LED lighting which will utilize less energy and save the Airport money.  The construction will take approximately 6 months to complete with work beginning in May and finishing in October of 2025.  

This project was advertised in the Yellowstone County News on February 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2025 and posted on the City and Airport's websites.  On March 4, 2025,the following bids were received:
 

CONTRACTOR	BID
Askin Construction	$6,169,295.00
KnifeRiver Construction	$7,716,139.55
Martin Construction	$8,266,205.78

                           
The Engineer's estimate was $9,239,136.00.
 

City Council may:

• Approve the Airport's Runway 7/25 Reconstruction and Extension Project to Askin Construction for $6,169,295.00; or,
• Not Approve the award, reject all bids, delay this important safety project and instruct staff how to proceed.

The total cost of this project is $6,169,295.00 and will be funded with $4 million from the Airport's annual FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) entitlement grant funds.  The additional amount will come from an FAA Discretionary grant or a combination of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds and Passenger Facility Carges (PFC's).  The Airport will need to provide a 5% local share match and these funds are available in the Airport's Capital Account.