Construction of $1.5B Pittsburgh International Airport terminal passes halfway mark, officials say

Construction is 60% complete at the Pittsburgh International Airport’s $1.57 billion terminal project, officials said Thursday.

Paul Hoback, chief development officer of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the project is scheduled to open in 2025, but wouldn’t provide an exact date.

Airport officials previously said the project — which includes a new 811,000-square-foot terminal and a 5,000-space parking garage — should be ready by spring 2025.

Hoback said construction for the project should be finished in 2025, but said factors like testing and meeting regulations make it hard to pin down an exact opening day.

“There is a pretty big window of time between construction being completed and opening,” Hoback said.

He said the project is on budget, and no local or state tax dollars are being used to fund its $1.5 billion price tag. The costs are carried by fees from the airlines, some of the airport authority’s revenue and $25 million in grants from the federal government.

Hoback said about 900 workers have been building the parking garage, adding flooring to the arrival floor of the terminal and installing large glass windows on the departing floor.

He said most of the windows have been installed.

The parking garage, which will be one of the largest in the state, is about 95% finished, Hoback said.

A connector bridge now makes it possible to walk between the existing airside terminal and the under-construction landside terminal.

Airport officials and local media crossed the 140-foot connector bridge during an hour-long tour on Thursday.

Hoback said the bridge’s design will mimic the entrance Fort Pitt tunnel drivers have when exiting the tunnel into the city.

The new connector bridge exits at the mezzanine level of the airside terminal.

“This is going to be our Fort Pitt moment to the new airside mezzanine,” Hoback said.

The automated tram — which takes passengers from the current landside terminal to the airside terminal — will be eliminated. Airport officials have touted the cost savings of the connector bridge compared to the automated tram. The tram costs $4 million annually to run, officials said. Replacing a tram car costs $30 million.

Hoback said the project should make passengers’ experience more efficient at the airport. By placing the new terminal directly next to the current airside terminal, passengers will be able to walk in between the two. Baggage won’t travel as far and will arrive quicker at the carousel, he said.

The new terminal will have eight baggage carousels that will be larger than those at the current terminal, Hoback said. He said many of the current carousels are unused.

He said when the existing terminals were built over 30 years ago, Pittsburgh was a hub for U.S. Airways and 80% of traffic comprised of passengers just passing through. Now 95% of passengers are arriving or leaving, and a new terminal should reflect those needs, Hoback said.

Gates at the airside terminal will be reduced from 70 to 56, and concession spaces will be reduced, with more of a focus on the central core of the terminal. Hoback said the airport is working on negotiations for concessions, and there should be several new vendors and restaurants when the terminal is complete.

Other changes meant to speed things up at the airport include a new express escalator that will ferry passengers between the first floor up to the third floor and skip the second floor.

The new terminal also will have 11 security gates, including one dedicated solely to families with children, and Hoback said that should decrease wait times at the security gates.