The city of Rexburg is in the process of building a new airport on U.S. Highway 33. The site has been approved and is currently undergoing environmental studies and is in the beginning stages of a land swap with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Environmental studies are set to take another 18 months to a year.
The new airport will replace Rexburg's current airport and it will feature a longer and wider runway to accommodate business class jets.
I spoke with Kieth Davidson, the City of Rexburg’s public works director about the process of a land swap, project timeline, and funding. Davidson layed out the order of operations from this point forward.
“Now, we're doing the environmental studies on that site,” said Kieth Davidson, Rexburg’s public works director. “Once those go through, so they find no significant impacts, then we can’t move ahead with the purchase of ground, working with the BLM to do a land swap. Then once we get that, then as funding come through from FAA (Federal Aviation Association) then we can work towards the plans and then construction.”
A basic overview of the project includes:
1. Continue conducting environmental studies at the airport site to ensure the airport won’t have a negative effect on the environment and wildlife.
2. Rexburg will purchase land of similar value and desirability to the land on Highway 33.
3. Rexburg will 1031 exchange (land swap) the newly purchased land for the BLM land on highway 33.
4. Follow the process for acquiring FAA funding.
5. Create the building plans for the airport.
6. Break ground and construct the airport.
Although this may sound like a straightforward process this project is estimated to take another nine years to complete. Davidson says the reason projects take so long is because of all the regulations in place to justify FAA funding.
“On these projects FAA funds 90% of the cost,” Davidson said, “so there are a lot of hoops that you have to go through.”
The new estimated project deadline is set for 2033.