WILLISTON, N.D. (KUMV) – At the peak of the Bakken oil boom in the late 2000s, city leaders said Sloulin Field Airport in Williston needed a major expansion to keep up with the growing number of passengers wanting to fly in and out of Williston.
“All of the infrastructure was not designed for the 50-passenger regional jets. The really small jets that people think are small today were twice the size of what that facility was designed to handle,” said Williston Airport Director Anthony Dudas.
Instead, the city decided to build the Williston Basin International Airport from scratch, the first airport built from the ground up in the U.S. in 16 years. Dudas played an active role in the airport’s planning and construction since joining the city in 2011…