SPI Insights

America’s airports are buzzing with announcements of new upcoming projects

Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced $1.7 billion in funding for upcoming projects at airports in America. The budget was allocated several years ago when Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The recent allocation is significant, but there’s more to come. A total of $3.35 billion will be awarded in 2024 for airport projects. This will result in contracting opportunities, including terminal expansions, baggage system upgrades, runway safety enhancements, noise compatibility projects and overall airport infrastructure upgrades.

The funding is available for various airport projects, including new runways, taxiway upgrades, signage, lighting, technology modernization and airport markings.

The Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will launch projects that represent upgrades and significant expansions designed to accommodate the thousands of anticipated visitors who will be visiting the state over the next several years. The 2026 FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games 2028 will draw extremely large crowds to California. Airport officials are currently overseeing projects to update the wayfinding and signage standards.  Other ongoing projects will provide clear, consistent, and responsive solutions to improve airport navigation across the campus. More substantial efforts will be initiated soon.

Plans are underway to deliver extensions to the D and E easterly taxiways and planning documents outline other projects that will provide upgrades and improvements to the new expansions. When completed, the taxiways will be able to serve the future Concourse 0 and the North Airfield. Improvements will be focused on enhancing safety, providing more efficient airfield operations, improving access enhancements to the new concourse and upgrading terminal facilities. The airfield improvements will also include reconfiguring taxiways to meet current FAA design standards, improving runway exits that will enhance pilot visibility and updating ends of taxiways for the new terminal and concourse. These projects are currently in the design phase, and approximately $150-200 million is earmarked for them.  A request for proposal (RFP) solicitation is expected in the first quarter of 2025.

In Florida, Broward County Aviation Department officials are advancing plans for a large Intermodal Center at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. This $835 million effort will include a new structure that provides linkages between the airport, its transit systems and the regional transportation modes. The new Intermodal Center will have more than four million square feet of new space and span eight levels in height. It will connect the airport’s automated people mover shuttle system to a parking garage, bus and taxi locations, and potential future light rail routes. Motorists will find 6,685 new parking spaces at the Center to facilitate the transition to other transit modes. Other project components will include improvements to existing airport parking garages and terminal roadways.

The project is currently in the environmental review phase, but the phase of work is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Construction will begin sometime after that, but no timelines are currently available.

Officials at the McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa, Tennessee, received a $13 million federal grant that will be used to rehabilitate one of the two runways at the airport. The infrastructure effort will be designed for reconstruction work in three phases. The effort will include land work, engineering, electrical upgrades and drainage improvements. The runway was initially constructed before current FAA standards were in place, so the reconstruction will bring the runway up to code. Airport officials assure that this effort will not impact airport traffic or the passenger experience.

The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority Board recently approved work authorization for surveying, testing, design and project management for the airport project. Although solicitation documents for construction services have not been released, construction is slated to begin in 2025.

A significant new project will be located at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington. The airport’s South Concourse, the central hub for international travelers, will soon get substantial upgrades. Passenger volume has grown considerably since the concourse was built in the 1980s, and with only minimal renovations, significant improvements will be made. Airport officials will oversee a $2 billion project.

The work will prioritize seismic upgrades, infrastructure replacement and increasing passenger capacity. Building systems will be improved for more significant operational and environmental efficiencies, and the upgrades will bring the facility up to modern security regulations. Additionally, the facility will be expanded to accommodate more retail and restaurant areas. This multi-year, multi-phase project is currently in the planning stage and solicitation documents to select a General Contractor/Construction Manager will be released in January 2025.

Officials at the St. Louis International Airport in Missouri will oversee a project to consolidate two terminals into one modernized and upgraded passenger concourse. The $2.8 billion effort is currently outlined to convert Terminal 1 into a 62-gate terminal. The ticketing area will be reconfigured into one large security checkpoint that replaces two other checkpoints. The design will preserve the location’s iconic four domes, and Terminal 2 will be repurposed. However, the plans for Terminal 2 have not yet been made available.

Recently, the airport oversight panel approved $650 million to fund the design of the consolidated terminal project and several enabling projects. This work will include transitional airline gates, a new garage design potentially located across from the new consolidated terminal, relocation of other airport facilities and the cost of a program management team.

Multiple design-bid-build and construction management at risk (CMAR) opportunities will be announced in 2024. However, the overall consolidated terminal project will be delivered using a CMAR model. Construction on enabling projects will begin in 2025, and the next phase of work is slated to begin in 2026.

With available funding, these types of projects are in planning phases throughout America. More details are available locally with airports that have received grant funding as well as airports that will soon receive grant revenue.