$1.4B terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport takes shape

A $1.4 billion project to build a new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport is on pace to be completed on schedule by early 2025, officials said Wednesday during a tour of the bustling construction site.

Eleven large cranes rose above the site Wednesday, and the first structures are going up. They include the steel frame of the planned 811,000-square-foot terminal, along with vertical beams for a new bridge-like structure with three levels where passengers will be able to be picked up, dropped off and get ground transportation.

“This is going to make life a lot better for people who travel and everyone who uses the airport,” Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said.

She said the upgrade will be the first major post-pandemic redesign and construction project at a U.S. airport. The existing terminal is 30 years old. Cassotis said officials want to keep the best of what the existing airport has to offer while upgrading the rest.

More than 80% of the work is being done by local firms. All of the steel being used for the project is being produced domestically and will be fabricated at Sippel Steel in Ambridge.

Cassotis said about 500 workers are working on the site, and that number will swell to about 1,400 at its peak. Costs are being covered fully by airport authority revenue and fees from airlines. No taxpayer money is being used.

The biggest difference between the new terminal and the existing one is the new one will be positioned right up against the gates. Now passengers shuttle between the existing landside and airside terminals to get to the gates.

Paul Hoback, the authority’s chief development officer, said the 13,000-foot-long bridge structure being built will have three levels: the top one for departing passengers, the middle one for arriving passengers and the bottom one for people to get on and off ground transportation such as taxis and public transit.

It will be twice as long as the bridge at the existing landside terminal.

A five-level parking garage will be built next to the new terminal. It will have 3,300 public parking spaces and 900 spaces for car rental companies. Most of the parking will be covered, Hoback said. The existing garage has 1,500 spaces.

When the new terminal opens, existing surface parking lots also will remain operational, Hoback said.

Cassotis said the authority is hoping the existing terminal building will be redeveloped by private enterprise, but the authority has money budgeted to demolish the building if needed.

When the new terminal is completed, the tram that carries passengers between the airside and landside terminals will be eliminated. Cassotis said the tram’s high maintenance costs make it unsuitable for the new terminal. She said the underground passageway will remain, and she hopes it could serve a new purpose, such as for shuttles or possible automated vehicles.

Hoback said all of the 74,000 tons of concrete removed to make way for the new terminal will be reused, including for filling the new terminal’s large columns as a fire-proofing measure.

All of the new facilities will be powered by five onsite natural gas generators and 9,000 solar panels that were built on top of a nearby landfill, officials said.

Cassotis said the redesign should position the airport for potential growth. She said passenger levels at airports such as Pittsburgh have been about 85% of pre-pandemic levels, but she expects to reach 100% by next year.

The new terminal will include open spaces, inside and outside, with native vegetation and seating. Cassotis said the airport has a lot of people who pick up and drop off friends and family, so having welcoming places to wait was important for the redesign.

Cassotis said the new terminal will have 11 security lanes, which is about double the current number. She said this should help with security line backups that often happen in the mornings.