The City of Pierre is moving forward with its plan for more parking at the Pierre Regional Airport.
This week, the City Commission approved a staff request to bid the project. That project includes a minimum of 30 new parking spots located northwest of the terminal and a maximum of 40 new parking spots.
“The extent of this project is highly dependent on the bids that come in,” said John Childs, City Engineer. “If they come in at a price point that allows us to add 40 spots, we will. If the bids come in on the higher end, we’ll have 30 new spots.”
The project was originally planned for 2020. However, the pandemic temporarily paused it. The project is now scheduled for spring 2021, with bid openings next month.
“Once the pandemic is behind us and enplanements pick back up, it will serve our community and our airport patrons very well to have additional parking spots,” said Pierre Mayor Steve Harding.
Parking spots became a premium at the airport last year when SkyWest picked up the Essential Air Service (EAS) contract to provide commercial air service to the Pierre Airport. Earlier this month, the City Commission requested the USDOT continue its EAS contract with SkyWest. The USDOT has until early December to award Pierre’s EAS contract.