NOTEBOOK: The numbers game at the airport
PERRY BEEMAN Aug 24, 2016 | 7:55 pm
2 min read time
369 wordsBusiness Record Insider, The Insider Notebook, TransportationWe learned Tuesday that the new terminal at the Des Moines airport will cost just north of $500 million if it is built near the present terminal, $641.5 million if it is constructed on the south side of airport property.
Except it might cost more. Or less. We’re talking the latest estimates of consultants here, before many, many decisions are made about this facility.
The fact is, until this terminal is designed, we won’t have a firm price tag. The new cost estimates above don’t count inflation of 3.5 to 4 percent a year, but they do include a 20 percent contingency, consultants told the airport authority board. Much of the difference between the sites comes down to the fact that the airport could reuse more roads and taxiways at the present site.
We had known for some time that the $420 million figure thrown around for the terminal and associated construction was probably low, because it was dated and a rough estimate, as are the new numbers. Airport chief Kevin Foley had estimated we might be talking $500 million here, one of the biggest public works projects in Iowa’s history. That is more than it cost to rebuild Interstate Highway 235 through Greater Des Moines.
Expect a public meeting on the airport plans in September. Then the airport board will choose a final site for the terminal. Things are leaning toward just northwest of the current terminal, but a formal decision hasn’t been made.
After a site is chosen, consultants will do programming work for months that will pin down what goes there. Then we’ll have a year of design work. And an environmental impact statement. The idea is to have a new terminal up and running by 2024.
Board Chairman Ed Hansell said we’ll have a firm idea on costs, and whether the airport needs to raise more than $200 million, when the design is done. If money looks tight, there could be cuts to reduce the cost, although Hansell’s not sure at this point what could be cut.
So we very well could see more sets of numbers before this project – pick your favorite pun – leaves the tarmac, hits the runway or takes off.
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