Dive Brief:

• The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has selected PCL Construction Services to build Phase I of its new $1.8 billion south airport terminal, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
• The new facility is 2 miles south of the current airport terminal and will be next to the new $1.3 billion train station now under construction. PCL's portion includes 16 to 21 new gates, a parking garage and a ground transportation area.
• This project is the 12th for PCL at the Orlando airport, according to Airport Technology. Construction should begin in the spring of next year, with completion expected by October 2019.

Dive Insight:

The new terminal will be able to serve most aircraft sizes and will include runway and taxiway infrastructure, loading bridges, landscaping, lighting, concessions and security. The joint venture of Kiewit-Turner is expected to handle much of the infrastructure for the terminal as part of the landside segment. When complete, the airport will increase its capacity from 24 million passengers annually to 40 million.

Terminal construction, along with a station that will connect three rail services to the airport, is part of a push by the GOAA and Orlando to build an 1,800-acre mixed-use development on airport property as well as a warehouse district for airport businesses. According to the Sentinel, the terminal and train station will cost more than the Skanska-led I-4 Mobility Partners' $2.3 billion rehabilitation of 21 miles of Interstate 4 in Orlando, which is Florida's most heavily used east-west route.

Several airports across the U.S. are undergoing or gearing up for massive renovation, due largely to the fact that passenger traffic has increased to the point that current facilities can no longer meet their needs, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Salt Lake City and New York.

And earlier this month, Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority officials announced plans for a $1.2 billion expansion and renovation of Nashville International Airport. The project should take five to seven years and will include improvements to lobby, parking and the concourse and could even feature a new hotel. Unlike many other projects of this scope and expense, airport officials announced that no tax proceeds would be used to fund any part of the project. Instead, state and federal grants, passenger charges and bonds will fund the lion's share.