July 22, 2022 Derek Lacey KEYWORDS airport construction / Infrastructure Bill / Southeast Construction Order Reprints No Comments

More than $133 million is headed for Southeastern Airports as part of almost $1 billion earmarked by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Terminal Program (ATP).

Nine airports from Florida to North Carolina will benefit from the first of five annual $1-billion commitments from the ATP, one of three aviation programs established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), according to a USDOT announcement.

Those Southeast airports are among 85 across the country included in the first round of awards, set to be spent on new construction, renovation and expansion at small and large airports across five states. 

Historically, the FAA has invested in runways, traffic-control towers and airport infrastructure each year. The ATP is the first time since 2009's Obama-era American Recover and Reinvestment Act that airports have had new additional funding from the federal government, the FAA says. 

The ATP received more than 650 applications totaling $14 billion in projects, the FAA says, and one of those not selected was Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where a spokesperson says the airport sought more than $167.5 million for its $231-million Concourse A Expansion Phase II. 

Construction on the project by a JE Dunn and McFarland Joint Venture began in May, and will construct 10 gates north of Concourse A on land that was formerly the rental car site, adding nearly 200,000 sq ft to the 1.8-million-sq-ft terminal. 

Charlotte-Douglas plans to apply for funding again in next year’s round of grants as it continues work on its Destination CLT development program, which encompasses $3.1 billion in capital investment.

At Orlando International Airport, $50 million will help fund the construction of new gates capable of serving four wide-body or eight narrow-body aircraft, increasing capacity, providing ADA-compliant facilities, and will achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, according to the release. 

"The money will move our designs forward to reinstate construction of four originally planned gates at Terminal C, increasing capacity and efficiency for our passengers," says Kevin Thibault, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. 

At the Asheville, N.C. Regional Airport, $15 million will go toward construction of a new air traffic control tower to replace the existing 61-year-old tower with a new, expanded facility. It is also an enabling project for the expansion and renovation of the existing terminal building, helping to achieve increased terminal capacity, replace aging and obsolete infrastructure and improve safety and energy efficiency. 

"The air traffic control tower here is one of the oldest operating control towers in the country, so it is in need of replacing," says Tina Kinsey, spokesperson for Asheville Regional Airport.

She says the tower is adjacent to the terminal building and needs to be relocated as a stand-alone tower. 

Funding from the ATP will help pave the way for phasing of the airport's larger, four- to five-year, $250-million effort to double the size of its terminal, add five gates, add a central energy plant and expanded ticketing, baggage claim, gates and concessions areas set to break ground in 2023, Kinsey says. 

The $15 million in ATP funding will be folded into a $50-million project to construct the new tower, a 13,000-sq-ft base building for FAA offices, engineering and maintenance space and Terminal Radar Approach Control facility.  

In Chattanooga, Tenn., $5 million will fund phase one of a terminal expansion project to enlarge the airport’s second level by almost 27,000 sq ft, according to the USDOT release. The expansion includes two new gates, one expanded gate, restrooms, and additional passenger queuing, hold room and circulation space.

A smaller, $475,000 grant will go to Crossville, Tennessee’s Crossville Memorial Airport to help bring the terminal building into ADA compliance. 

In Huntsville, Ala., $10 million will replace aging elevators, escalators and mechanical equipment, as well as add one elevator and three escalators, new terminal and concourse restrooms and other amenities. 

In Gainesville, Fla., $1.67 million will improve a multi-modal ground transportation facility, including new lighted, covered, accessible walkways to the commercial airline terminal, covered passenger waiting area, accessible restrooms and queuing lanes for taxis and city buses. 

At Sarasota, Florida’s Bradenton International Airport, $10 million will fund a new Concourse A Ground Boarding Facility to add five new gates and hold rooms, add four security checkpoint lanes and replace the existing two-chiller Central Energy Plant. Concourse B will be improved with expanded hold rooms, additional escalators, modified gate entrances and upgraded power and communications equipment.  

In Atlanta, at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, $40 million will go to modernizing the 40-year-old Concourse D, as well as enlarging hold rooms, restrooms and the central corridor. Updates will increase passenger capacity, ADA compliance and help the airport achieve LEED Gold certification.