Nearly $27 milllion in federal funding is targeting the building of a replacement baggage handling system at the Denver International Airport. A new control system in the main terminal will also help increase energy efficiency in the building.
The award is part of a substantially larger almost $1 billion in grants just released by the Department of Transportation and designed to improve airport terminal facilities across the country.
Exactly 114 grants of varying sizes are being awarded, all to be used, according to Federal Aviation Administration associate administrator Shannetta Griffin, to “modernize airports to meet the needs of travelers today and for years to come.”
According to the Department of Transportation, the multiplicity of awards will help to “improve passenger experience, accessibility, and sustainability while creating good-paying jobs.”
Funded projects include larger security checkpoints, increased gate capacity, improved accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and a general modernization of aging terminal infrastructure.
Among the larger grants: $40 million for improvements to Terminal 3 at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, improvements that will include energy efficiency upgrades and an updated baggage system.
Around $20 million will be used to help expand the Concourse B terminal at the Salt Lake City International Airport.
A grant emphasis is also being placed on the refurbishing of control towers nationally, with the Duluth International Airport receiving $10 million to build a tower that will replace the one it has that was built in 1963; and $4.5 million going for the construction of a new tower at the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas.
Funding for the various projects is coming directly out of the FAA’s Airport Terminal Project, a program seeing $1 billion in grant funding spent over a 5-year period to improve the country’s airport infrastructure.
By Garry Boulard
