Submitted Photo The renovation of the 91st Maintenance Group’s industrial areas is estimated to be completed in 2023.

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE – More than $76.5 million to $91.5 million in construction projects currently are being done at Minot Air Force Base.

Lt. Col. David Dammeier, commander of the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, presented an update on military construction projects at the January virtual meeting of the Minot Area Chamber EDC.

A $24 million indoor firing range is among the current construction projects at the base and in the Minot missile field.

With an estimated completion date of August of this year, the project constructs an indoor firing range to support small arms and machine gun training.

Dammeier said it will provide a facility indoors and freeing military members from weather events as well as providing safer nighttime training events.

Due to extreme snowload events in 2016, the HAZMART facility was deemed a hazard due to the collapse of its roof, making the facility not useable.

Dammeier said Sen. John Hoeven successfully added language to the National Defense Authorization Act that will allow a complete demolition and replacement of the facility. The project was awarded in September 2020. It is expected to be completed in March 2022.

The mass parking apron is a massive project at Minot Air Force Base.

Dammeier said the project extends over seven phases that replaces 60-year-old B-52 parking apron concrete that has exceeded its lifespan. The total seven-phase project costs $100 million. He said they expect phase four (a $20 million to $25 million project) should be done in fiscal year 2021. The estimated completion date is fall.

A $16 million project will renovate the 91st Maintenance Group’s industrial areas (including heat, ventilation, air conditioning, electronics labs, and missile communications)

Dammeier said the project was awarded last year. He said it has a completion date of about 2023.

He said last year a suspected faulty block heater caught fire in a hangar where some snow equipment and material were stored. “This caused a massive fire in the hangar in which resulted in a total loss of the facility,” he said.

He said this new project will provide replacement for that facility. The new pre-engineered steel building for cold storage of equipment and materials will cost $1.4 million.

Several million dollars in construction projects in the Minot missile field will include updates at missile alert facilities and installing sump pumps for use during wet cycles at launch facilities. All the work is scheduled to be completed in summer or fall of this year.

Future Opportunities and Future Construction

The Helicopter Operations and Tactical Response Force facility is an $80 million to $90 million military construction project.

“This is a large facility that will house helo pilots and response personnel under one roof to produce reduced response times to the missile complex,” Dammeier said.

“It will also house the newest helo, the Grey Wolf, when it comes on line,” Dammeier said.

It is a nine-bay facility to house the base’s 54th Helicopter Squadron’s new MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters and 91st Security Force’s tactical response force.

Dammeier said the estimated award for the construction project is this summer.

A project to upgrade the Magic City (Main) Gate at Minot AFB will cost $5 million to $10 million. Dammeier said they expect to start to design it this fiscal year, with construction in fiscal year 2023.

An indoor athletic facility also is in the base’s future construction.

The project includes an air inflated field cover for all weather physical training similar to Minot State University’s “Bubble.”

Dammeier said it would provide a 300-meter track with synthetic turf for sports activities and fitness assessments. The project would replace an existing asphalt track with the rubberized track and dirt field with synthetic turf. It provides the infrastructure to secure the inflateable structure.

The cost would be $2 million to $4 million for the rubberized asphalt track and synthetic turf field; $1 million to $3 million for the foundation for the field cover; and $1 million to $2 million for the air-inflated field cover.

“We are planning for end of year funds this fiscal year,” Dammeier said.

“Due to costs it is more effective to upgrade and modernize a facility versus replacing a facility,” Dammeier said. “Therefore we have several projects that are going to upgrade the B-52 maintenance docks that support the nuclear and conventional mission.”

The four project vary from $5 million to $10 million and up to $15 million to $20 million each. The estimated date for award is 2021 and 2022.

Currently, the base’s Child Development Center does not have enough space. Plans are to renovate the facility to create two classrooms for toddlers and two classrooms for preschool children.

Dammeier said this will result in the addition of about 60 spots at the Child Development Center for children.

He said the design is complete and they hope to start construction in 2022. The project will cost between $1 million to $5 million.

Magic City Discovery Center

Dammeir said the base recently partnered with the Magic City Discovery Center in Minot, Minot Parks and others that led to a Department of Defense $6.3 million Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program grant for the construction of a 22,000-square-foot building. The building, estimated to cost $14 million, will house exhibits designed to help children discover, create, invent and play.