As workers saw, hammer and paint their way toward completing Terminal 2 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, a transportation hub designed for a growing community, and an improved economy, is emerging.
Scheduled to open in January, Terminal 2 will be able to handle 11.4 million passengers annually, more than 2 million more than traveled through the entire airport in 2009. Airport officials expect 2010 traffic to mirror last year's, but they note that Terminal 2 is designed to last more than three decades.
"It's wonderful for the economy that will come," said Charles Hayes, president of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. Airport passenger numbers aren't growing at the moment, but they will, he predicts. "At some point, it will be like, 'Oh my goodness. We need to expand some more.'"
Airport workers opened the construction site to reporters on Tuesday for a peek behind the temporary walls that keep the bulk of the project from public view. About 550,000 square feet of Terminal 2 opened in October 2008, with the remaining 370,000 square feet under construction.
When it is finished, US Airways and Continental Airlines, which is merging with United Airlines, will move across the airport to Terminal 2. The new terminal will include 36 gates, three check-in counters and enough space for 10 security lanes. New restaurants and retail, including a Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and a restaurant and bar that features North Carolina wines, will be included in the second phase. In all, Terminal 2 will have 37 shops and restaurants.
Terminal 1 will become a much smaller operation, able to handle about 4 million passengers a year and housing Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran airlines. The bulk of people flying into the Triangle for the first time will be greeted by the impressive, wooden archways and natural light streaming through giant windows in the new terminal.
"This is a terminal that we have needed for many years," airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin said. More than 99 percent of travelers who use the airport begin or end their trip at RDU. "With that passenger profile, you need facilities that can accommodate them," Hamlin said.
It's not cheap
Terminal 2 will cost $570million, financed by a combination of bonds, a passenger facility charge and airport-generated revenue.
Earlier this year, the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority decided to push up its construction deadline by a few weeks to accommodate the NHL All-Star Game, which will be in Raleigh on Jan. 30. The extra overtime will cost the authority $590,000.
Terminal 2 is one of the largest public works projects in the Triangle, involving 450 construction workers. On Tuesday, several worked to install the luggage conveyor system that runs behind one of the ticket counters.
The sounds of drilling and hammering echoed through the cavernous space under a 60-foot-high atrium ceiling. Escalators and elevators have been installed but sat idle, waiting for human cargo.
By the beginning of 2012, the airport authority plans to begin renovations to Terminal 1.
New paint, restrooms and carpet are among the cosmetic changes passengers are likely to notice.
The airport authority has not yet set a budget for the renovations.
But no matter how much they spruce up Terminal 1, the improvements will not match the grandeur of its sibling terminal across the way.
"Airports are stressful places," said Dave Powell, director of major capital improvements for the airport authority. "We tried to create an ambience that's a little more comfortable and a little more calming than you would normally find."
