Editorial: Will investing in airports pay off for Southwestern Pennsylvania?

Southwestern Pennsylvania has some extensive work being done on airports.

The larger is the Terminal Modernization Program at Pittsburgh International Airport. Originally proposed in 2017, it had a projected price tag of $1.1 billion. Construction began in 2021. Costs are now about $1.7 billion.

In a tour Tuesday, airport officials showed off the terminal, now 90% complete. It might be hard to tell amid the literal acres of scaffolding, orange cones and construction equipment, but the project is in the home stretch. Temporary occupancy permits are expected for the end of June. A gala event is slated to celebrate the new terminal in October.

Now let’s look Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

It has been three years this week since plans were first unveiled for a project that would take the terminal in Unity from 45,000 square feet to 90,000 square feet at a cost of about $22 million.

At that time, construction was expected to start in fall of 2023. It ended up kicking off in October 2024.

But officials said Tuesday the project is at least three months behind. Among the delays is delivery of domestically produced steel anticipated for spring. It’s now expected in July, making construction chug to a stall. Westmoreland County Airport Authority engineer Scott Kunselman said the weather over the last eight months hasn’t helped.

The two construction projects are at very different places. As Pittsburgh International’s winds down, the Arnold Palmer Regional’s is barely beginning.

They do have something in common.

Both projects are heavily invested in a vision for the future.

The Pittsburgh terminal is an effort to compete with airports in major cities, offering amenities that will make it more attractive when people are pricing tickets. Sure, maybe Pittsburgh International isn’t a major airline hub, but a redesigned check-in or a 12-lane security area, plus covered parking and EV charging, could make it a better option.

Arnold Palmer Regional doesn’t have the same traffic as Pittsburgh, but the expanded terminal could be a gateway to increase passenger travel. With an additional gate as well as refurbishing one passenger bridge and building another, maybe another carrier will join Spirit Airlines in offering passengers a smaller, less busy alternative.

But will the investment — and the vision — pay off?