Concourse expansion, roads and a tower: The latest on these Charlotte airport projects
On Tuesday, Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials gave reporters a tour of the $608 million terminal lobby expansion construction. It’s one of the biggest projects underway at the Charlotte airport, but far from the only one.
In May 2015, the airport kicked off its 10-year $2.5 to $3.1 billion construction program, called “Destination CLT.” No general tax dollars will be used on the Destination CLT projects.
Here’s an update on some of those other ongoing projects.
Concourse A expansion
Phase II of this project was put on hold last year during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina, airport chief operating officer Jack Christine told reporters Tuesday.
That Concourse A work is starting back up now, he said. Other construction projects were continued throughout the pandemic, even as passenger totals took a hit.
The latest expansion in Concourse A, a $205-million project, will add 10 gates to the north end of the concourse. That work is scheduled to be competed in 2024.
The airport already completed Phase I of the Concourse A expansion, adding nine gates on the north side of Concourse A in a $200-million project completed in 2018.
Here’s a peek inside the Charlotte airport’s $608 million lobby expansion project
Concourse E expansion
The expansion to Concourse E is almost done, Christine said.
That $50-million expansion, adding 34,000 square feet of space to the north side of Concourse E, will be completed by the end of the year, he said.
And the airport plans to add jet bridges to all gates in Concourse E over the next two years after the expansion finishes, he said.
North End Around Taxiway project
The North End Around Taxiway is a $422-million project that will involve roadway relocation, including moving the airport’s popular overlook.
The airport overlook will be closed and relocated as part of the North End project. It’s not yet known when that will happen.
The airport’s future fourth parallel runway is also slated to run through the site of the overlook.
Charlotte opened up bids on the roadway relocation project for the North End Around Taxiway project on Tuesday, Christine said. The project is still in the design phase but is on schedule, he said. That work will completed in 2024, according to the airport.
FAA tower at CLT
The Federal Aviation Administration is funding and building an air traffic control tower on the south side of the airfield. When its completed, the tower will be the second tallest in the country at 367 feet tall, according to the Charlotte airport.
The current FAA tower at CLT is 150 feet tall.
Work on the tower is wrapping up, Christine said. The tower should be ready for use in late winter or early spring next year.
“They’re finishing that up now,” he said. “We’re looking forward to them moving into their new space — beautiful tower, has an awesome view.”
More information on the airport’s ongoing construction project is available at the Destination CLT website.
