Williston Basin International Airport

Planning for the new $273 million Williston Basin International Airport (XWA) began in 2012. Ulteig started working with the City of Williston in 2015 to develop solutions to manage this very high-profile project. Ground was broken on October 10, 2016, and in June 2017 Ulteig began their role as overall program manager. During the project Ulteig managed 29 active contracts, 16 prime contractors, 16 consulting companies and seven tenant projects.

LISTENING TO OUR CLIENT
Ulteig’s advanced preparation of an a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program application resulted in $112.4 million in funding and allowed the airport to obtain competitive bids and start projects early – thus reducing the project’s timeline by roughly nine months.

LISTENING TO THE COMMUNITY
The City of Williston also hired Ulteig to provide cultural monitoring staff on the construction site. Facilitated by Ulteig, the FAA consulted with tribal historic preservation officers throughout the XWA project to understand the tribes’ concerns and interests. The construction was continually monitored by Ulteig to make sure those concerns were kept in mind. The FAA will replicate this project’s model for future federally funded projects.

RESULTS
XWA opened on time, on Oct. 10, 2019. It is the first new commercial greenfield airport in the U.S. in over eight years and will greatly improve transportation access to this growing region.