BOISE, Idaho — Construction on two new parking garages will soon be underway at Boise Airport.
The additional garages are part of an expansion project and will be available for public parking and employee parking, according to a news release from the City of Boise. Construction on the garages is expected to take around 18 to 24 months to complete and begins at the end of January.
The expansion is the first for parking facilities since 2013, which was expected to meet demands for 10 years.
"However, with the airport’s unprecedented growth, seeing passenger traffic increase by 49% from 2014 – 2019, it became clear that additional parking was needed," according to the city.
The growth, which is part of the BOI Upgrade Airport Expansion Project, was briefly paused in 2020 due to the drop in travel related to the pandemic.
"Final numbers for 2021 passenger counts are not in yet, but we should be very near our 2019 counts which was a record-breaking year for the airport,” said Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp in a statement. “With this steady demand for air travel from our region comes an increased need for parking."
The garage for public parking will add 1,150 stalls and a pedestrian bridge for access to the airport, according to the release. The employee garage will have a capacity of around 700 stalls.
The construction will be funded by $56.2 million in bond proceeds from the issuance of general airport revenue bonds, according to the city.
Close-in parking capacity will be reduced during construction and travelers are encouraged to use the economy parking lot.
The BOI Upgrade project will also increase terminal and gate capacity and include expanded aircraft parking and a new concourse.
