Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced $1.7 billion in funding for upcoming projects at America’s airports. This budget was approved several years ago when Congress passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill. While the recent allocations are significant, there are more to come.
A total of $3.35 billion is expected to be awarded to airport projects in 2024. This will create contracting opportunities for terminal expansions, baggage system upgrades, runway safety improvements, noise abatement projects, general airport infrastructure upgrades, and more. The funding is available for a variety of airport projects, including new runways, taxiway improvements, signage, lighting, technology upgrades, and airport signage.
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will begin projects that mark improvements and significant expansions to accommodate the thousands of travelers expected to visit the state in the coming years.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games will draw very large crowds to California. Airport officials are currently overseeing projects to update wayfinding and signage standards. Other ongoing projects will provide clear, consistent, and responsive solutions to improve airport navigation across campus. Additionally, more extensive measures are expected to be introduced soon.
Plans are underway to expand East Runway D and E, and other projects providing upgrades and improvements for the new expansion are outlined in planning documents. Once completed, the runways will be available for use as future Hall 0 and North Airfield. The improvements will focus on improving safety, more efficient airfield operations, improving access to the new concourse, and modernizing terminal facilities.
Airfield improvements will also include reconfiguring taxiways to meet current FAA design standards, improving runway exits to improve pilot visibility, and renovating taxiway ends for the new terminal and concourse. These projects are currently in the design phase and are valued at approximately $150 million to $200 million. Requests for proposals (RFPs) are expected in the first quarter of 2025.
In Florida, Broward County Aviation Department officials are planning a large intermodal center at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The $835 million effort includes a new structure that will provide connections between the airport, its transit system and regional transportation agencies. The new intermodal center will be eight stories tall with more than 375,000 square feet of new space.
It will connect the airport’s automated people-moving shuttle system with parking lots, bus and taxi stands, and a future light rail line. Drivers will have 6,685 new parking spaces at the center to make it easier to transfer to other modes of transportation. Other components of the project include improvements to existing airport parking lots and terminal roads.
The project is currently in the environmental assessment phase, but the work phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. Construction will then begin, but no timeline has been set at this time. Officials at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa, Tennessee, have received a $13 million federal grant that will be used to renovate one of the airport’s two runways. The infrastructure measures will be implemented in three phases.
The measures include earthworks, civil engineering, electrical renovations and drainage improvements. The runway was originally built before the current FAA standards took effect, and the renovations will bring the runway into compliance with the standards. Airport officials have assured that these measures will not impact airport traffic or the passenger experience. The Knoxville Metropolitan Airport Authority Board of Directors recently approved work authorizations for surveys, testing, design and project management of the airport project. Bidding documents for the construction work have not yet been released, but construction is expected to begin in 2025.
A new major project is underway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state. The airport’s South Concourse, the central hub for international travelers, will soon undergo a major renovation. Passenger traffic has increased significantly since the concourse was built in the 1980s, and significant improvements have been achieved with minimal renovations. Airport officials will oversee the $2 billion project.
Work will focus on seismic retrofitting, infrastructure replacement and increasing passenger capacity. Building systems will be upgraded for operational and environmental efficiency, and the upgrades will bring the facility into compliance with the latest safety regulations.
Additionally, the facility will be expanded to accommodate more retail and restaurant space. This multi-year, multi-phase project is currently in the planning stages, with bidding documents to select a general contractor/construction manager expected to be released in January 2025. Officials at St. Louis International Airport in Missouri will oversee a project to consolidate the airport’s two terminals into a modernized and improved passenger hall.
The $2.8 billion project currently includes converting Terminal 1 into a 62-gate terminal. The ticket area will be transformed into a large security checkpoint, replacing two other checkpoints. The design aims to preserve the site’s iconic four domes and reuse Terminal 2; however, plans for Terminal 2 have yet to be made public. Recently, the Airport Oversight Board approved $650 million in funding for the design of the integrated terminal project and several supporting projects.
This work includes the design of temporary passenger gates, a new garage that may be located across from the new integrated terminal, relocation of other airport facilities, and costs for a program management team.
Multiple design, bid, construct and construction management at risk (CMAR) opportunities are expected to be announced in 2024; however, the entire integrated terminal project will be implemented using the CMAR model. Construction of the supporting projects is expected to begin in 2025, and work on the next phase is expected to begin in 2026.
Given the available resources, such projects are in the planning stages across the U.S. More information is available locally from airports that have received grants and those that will soon receive grants.