The new Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) opened last week, following a $114 million federal investment that saw it relocated onto undeveloped land in North Dakota.
The move makes XWA the first primary airport to be built in the last nine years on undeveloped land. It is also one of only seven such airports to be built over the previous 45 years.
“Over the past several years, we’ve secured legislation to ensure the airport could be built on a new location as well as the federal funding needed to make the Williston Basin International Airport a reality,” U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) said. “This new airport is vital infrastructure in western North Dakota and is critical to meeting the needs of the region. It will not only improve services for travelers but help support economic growth in Williston and the surrounding communities.”
Hoeven had pushed for the federal funding that allowed this to happen as a member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Committee. As a result of those actions, the Federal Aviation Administration was directed to provide sufficient funding to airports in critical need of relocation and expansion for economic purposes.
Hoeven also secured a commitment from the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to designate XWA an international airport, as opposed to their original suggestion that it become a user fee airport. Cooperation federal, state, and local officials also ensured cement was supplied to pave the primary runway and taxiway by Aug. 12, so the FAA could complete its flight checks before the airport’s opening.