Bismarck Airport is asking the City Commission for permission to apply for a federal Department of Homeland Security grant to help pay for designing a new checked-baggage screening system, part of the planned terminal expansion at the airport, 2301 University Drive. The request is item 2E1 on the consent agenda for the commission's meeting at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the Tom Baker Meeting Room of the City/County Office Building, 221 N. Fifth St.
The request
The agenda lists the item as a grant application for the Department of Homeland Security Other Transaction Agreement for Terminal Design Funding; the enclosed form is a Transportation Security Administration design funding application. An airport staff memo says TSA representatives, meeting with airport and consultant staff during terminal design, pointed out a chance to seek DHS money for the cost of designing the terminal's baggage handling system. The memo calls the grant competitive and says there is no assurance the airport will receive funding.
Staff is asking commissioners to approve the application, accept an award if one comes, and let airport staff apply for future DHS grants tied to the expansion. The memo says money for building the baggage system upgrades may come open later on short notice.
The application in the packet says the project would produce design and construction documents for a full replacement and expansion of the existing baggage handling system, to address aging systems at end of life and to accommodate future growth. The proposed in-line screening system would replace a semi-in-line system. The form lists an estimate of about $8.1 million in total design costs for the project.
The larger project
According to a July 28 airport memo, construction of the current terminal finished in May 2005, and it was designed for about 240,000 annual enplanements. Enplanements passed that mark in 2014 and hit an all-time high of 309,000 in 2019. The memo describes overcrowding that has left too little seating, restroom, circulation and concessions space, along with challenges for TSA baggage and passenger screening.
A terminal area study finished in early 2026 projected more than 450,000 passengers within 20 years and called for two more boarding bridges. Staff identified Phases 1 through 3, estimated at $132.2 million, as the most critical. The memo says much of the construction money is expected to come from one-time state funding.
On July 28, commissioners approved a design and construction-administration contract with Ubl Design Group, according to that meeting's minutes. The memo put the contract at about $10.06 million, with a $1 million FAA grant and a $4.7 million North Dakota Aeronautics Commission grant helping cover it. The memo says the goal is to have Phase 1 ready to bid in summer 2027, after the 2027 legislative session.
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