"Minneapolis airport digs up money for projects ; Airports Commission staff members have come up with $50 million for construction work that was curtailed last fall"

Saturday, March 30, 2002

MAC digs up money for projects ; Airports Commission staff members have
come up with $50 million for construction work that was curtailed last
fall.
The Minneapolis (MN) Star-Tribune


>From everywhere but the sofa cushions, officials at Minneapolis- St.
Paul International Airport have scrounged $50 million - enough to
restore 18 projects to this summer's previously curtailed construction
program.

The high-ticket items include:

   - $5 million more for noise insulation in houses near the airport.

   - $8 million for a UPS cargo-handling building whose cost will be
reimbursed in a lump sum by UPS.

   - $10 million for a new Mesaba Airlines hangar.

   - $11 million to rebuild the northeast end of MSP's longest runway.

   - $4.5 million to build a station platform for light-rail trains that
will stop near the airport's Humphrey terminal.

If the 15-member Metropolitan Airports Commission approves its staff's
recommendations, as it usually does, the construction budget would jump
from $103.3 million to $146.3 million. That includes $7.3 million in
offsetting reductions from lower-than-expected bids earlier this year.

The increased budget still would be far less than the $371 million
proposed last summer, before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the
aviation industry's financial prospects. Most of the projects are part
of the $3.1 billion expansion plan that followed the state's decision to
keep MSP at its current location instead of building a new airport
elsewhere.

The MAC's Planning and Environment Committee will consider the additions
Tuesday, and the full commission will consider them April 15.

Nigel Finney, a MAC deputy executive director, said the proposed budget
changes probably are the last major ones for the year. The time required
to bid and build must fit within the construction season for most
outdoor projects, he said, and "if we don't do them now, there's not
enough time to get them done." 

When MAC staff members recommended slicing the building budget last
fall, they said they might return later with "adjustments" if conditions
changed. Their proposed increases stem from three main sources:

First, unexpectedly low bids on four major projects have saved $4.5
million, although such savings are not guaranteed because the MAC often
increases contract amounts as changes occur during construction.

Second, some work on a stormwater discharge project has been deferred,
allowing a temporary reduction of $2.75 million.

Third, the MAC's cash fund for construction is in better shape than
expected. Finance Manager Steve Busch said that during last fall's
budget-cutting, some items were inadvertently counted twice. Correcting
those items has helped boost the fund's total, providing $35 million
that could revive the deferred projects and pay for a few new ones.

Besides the high-priced items, other projects at MSP would include snow
melters, fencing, signs and other work at the Humphrey terminal parking
ramp, allowing it to open in October, and road and bridge work near E.
77th St. and 24th Av. S.. Elsewhere, the list includes granular carbon
filters for wells near the MAC's Lake Elmo airport because of the risk
posed by chemicals in the groundwater in Baytown Township.

AT A GLANCE

MAC's changing construction budget

Original capital-improvement budget proposal for 2002: $371 million

Reduced 2002 budget after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks: $103.3 million

Reduced costs because of low bids and deferred work: -$7.25 million

Estimated costs of new and restored projects: +$42.25 million

UPS cargo development, to be reimbursed by UPS: +$8.0 million

Adjusted 2002 capital-improvement budget: $146.33 million


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