Members of the Metropolitan Airport Commission may invest about $255 million in improvements to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport even as they consider building a new airport in rural Dakota County.
Nigel Finney, deputy executive director of planning and environment for the commission, said if the group's board approves the interim capital improvement program, the commission will probably issue $40 million of bonds to help fund the renovations.
The $255 million capital improvement program, scheduled for a Nov. 21 vote, would pay for a 1,000-foot runway extension, expanded parking and office space for auto rental companies, a new maintenance hangar for a local charter airline, and the continuation of a sound insulation program for residents and businesses near the airport.
The commission is also wrestling with whether to build a new airport at an estimated cost of $4 billion or overhaul the existing airport for about half the price. Finney said commission members are "concerned" about incurring cost overruns and delays like those at Denver International Airport, but are not backing away from the notion of a new airport.
The panel has set a July 1996 deadline to advise the state legislature on whether to build a new airport or renovate the existing one.
