Most airport managers don’t need to cross an international border to maintain their runway. But at Piney Pinecreek Border Airport, it comes with the territory. This small public-use airport, located about two miles northwest of the town of Pinecreek, Minnesota, is one of only six airports in North America that straddles the US-Canada border—and the only airport with a paved runway that crosses the international border at the 49th parallel. Staff working at the airport are allowed to cross as part of their duties and can fortunately avoid the usual customs process.
The Piney Pinecreek airport is owned jointly by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the rural municipality of Piney, Manitoba—a fact that accounts for its double-barreled name. The airport is a result of the cooperation of the two communities on either side of the invisible border, who had to overcome numerous bureaucratic hurdles to get it built.
Back when the airport’s border-crossing runway opened in 1978, the celebration drew local dignitaries and news coverage. It’s been operating rather quietly since then, until recently. An updated agreement between the US and Canada was signed and executed in June 2022.
“Our team has enjoyed putting time and energy into working with our Canadian partners to get the agreement worked out,” says Ryan Gaug, interim director of MnDOT’s Aeronautics Office.
The airport requires an international agreement between the two countries to operate. The new agreement, Gaug says, better clarifies responsibilities and financial contributions for the airport’s maintenance and operations. For example, it specifies that costs for capital improvements, major preservation, rehabilitation, or other improvements will generally be split between the owners on a 50/50 basis. The agreement also reconvened an eight-member joint airport advisory board, adding some new members, to make essential decisions regarding the airport’s operation, maintenance, and regulations. The board consists of four members from Canada and four from Minnesota. Joining Gaug from the US side are Jim Bittmann, project manager with MnDOT; Jimmy Johnson, pilot and part-owner of Intercept Industries; and chair Marlin Elton, former Piney Pinecreek airport manager.
“Decision making takes on a new dimension when the parties are in different countries,” Gaug says. In cases where licensing standards differ, the airport will follow the higher standard.
An airport is born
The airport was originally championed by Pinecreek-area resident and aviation enthusiast Eugene Simmons in 1949 to expedite growing cross-border general aviation traffic. Since thousands of fishermen, hunters, and businessmen cross the border in private planes, an airfield to clear customs would speed these travelers and reduce congestion at major fields in Minneapolis and Winnipeg, according to Simmons.
Simmons and other boosters were successful, and the airport opened in July of 1953, with its turf runway ending just before the international border. In 1972, airport supporters proposed paving and extending the runway by 1,150 feet so it could accommodate larger aircraft. The easiest plan, they said, was to lengthen the field on the north side. Because of the border crossing, this required “about seven years of bureaucratic shuffling” between local and national governments, Elton says, with Simmons, MnDOT’s Larry McCabe, and Senator Hubert Humphrey playing key roles. Finally, the asphalt extension was completed in 1978, bringing Runway 15/33 to 3,297 ft. by 75 ft. and creating a binational airport in the process. Simmons served as the first airport manager.
The airport today
Elton, who lives near Roseau, has served on the airport commission since the 1970s. A recreational pilot for many years, he passed on his interest in aviation to his son, Mark, who is the current acting airport manager.
Elton says most of the airport’s users are recreational and transient, flying in from across the US and Canada. An air ambulance service also operates on the Canadian side. Although COVID-19 sharply curtailed operations, primarily due to tough restrictions for crossing into Canada, Elton says operations are back to what they were previously—about 700 landings per year, mostly in the summer season.
In a familiar refrain for many small airports, funding is the facility’s most significant challenge, Elton says. Maintenance costs have increased significantly, yet relative to other airports are still “extremely low,” he adds. But structures such as the current arrival/departure building may need to be replaced soon, and the blacktop resurfaced.
Although the airport has been the site of a few mishaps, none have resulted in fatalities. In one memorable instance, a pilot operating a restored antique aircraft misjudged the brakes and flipped the plane, Elton recalls. Elton was on hand to drive the pilot to the hospital, whose injuries were mostly to his pride.
A unique advantage of the airport is the ease of clearing customs. Pilots and passengers can deplane in either country and walk to the respective customs authority. “A customs officer can interact directly with the pilot and there’s less red tape,” Elton says.
Looking ahead
Under Minnesota’s airport system plan, each airport has its own unique document to help MnDOT with planning and development. According to MnDOT’s Kevin Carlson, planning program coordinator for North Region airports, the airport layout plan (ALP) for Piney Pinecreek is outdated and needs to be brought into compliance with new Office of Aeronautics’ standards. Consultant Bolton & Menk is onboard to update the ALP, which will also be used as a reference for Aeronautics’ new standards for completing and updating the state’s non-NPIAS airports’ future planning efforts. A how-to video, to be posted on MnDOT’s website, will also be created as part of the process. The work is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.
To get a better idea of who is using the airport, how often, and for what purpose, MnDOT will be conducting a feasibility study. “We really want to understand the role this airport is playing in our aviation system, so we have the most accurate information possible moving into the future,” Gaug says. Once complete, the ALP is likely to identify a variety of investments needed in both short- and long-term timeframes. The information gained, Gaug says, will allow the two owners to make informed decisions about the airport’s future.
Additional sources: FAA; New York Times (June 28, 1979, sec. A, pg. 16); The Center for Land Use Interpretation
