Tampa International Airport, or TIA for short, is spending close to a billion dollars to expand and renovate the airport.  The project is estamated to cost $943 million dollars.  After completion the airport will be able to support 35 million passengers each year, more than double the airports current capacity.  The project is intended to “…maximize the capacity and longevity of the existing main terminal facilities while ensuring the high level of service for which TPA is known.” (Airport Master Plan Update, 2013).    This project is coming in the wake of a recovering housing and financial services market, not to mention record low fuel prices.

The centerpiece of this project is the railway connecting the main terminal to what is being termed the “Gateway Center.”

Automated People Mover

Skyconnect is the name of the airports automated people mover. The track is a 1.4 mile guideway connecting the main terminal to the gateway center.   The track beams of the s-curve connecting the two sections of the airport weigh as much as 62 tons. The steel beams are supported by concrete beams, known as I-Beams.  Some beams are massive requiring two 600 ton hydro cranes to put them in place. In total, there are 125 columns and 500 concrete beams being placed during the course of the project.

Gateway Center

The Gateway Center is the airport support facility.  It will soon have in place key terminal support elements.   A new hotel will replace the Marriott, and based on market analysis an upscale hotel was identified as being viable.  The rental car center features eight 25,000 gallon fuel tanks, and the facility will be a 2.6 million square foot building. It totals 100,000 cubic yards of cement, the equivalent of 10,000 concrete trucks. This gateway center renovation and construction includes relocating the employee parking, making roadway improvements, and adding commercial development.

Terminal Development

In the main terminal section of this project there are many things happening.  One of the most notable is the automated people mover and guide-way on the east side of the main terminal. The existing Marriott Hotel is being demolished.  A new customs and border protection facility is being added at the north end of the terminal.  A new air-side terminal D is being constructed with 16 international and domestic gates, and the air-side D ramp is being reconfigured and expanded. Demolition of things that will no longer be necessary will be a component of the main terminal renovations.

Other Renovations

There are also many updates necessary for the regular operation of the airport, things like a railway maintenance facility, a rental car quick turnaround facility, and central plant chillers and a main power configuration.

This is a large and expensive undertaking, a project that will make traveling by air to and from Tampa much smoother.