More big changes are underway at Tampa International Airport. After completing the Blue Express Curbsides project last year, crews will begin preparations to build a Red Express Curbsides facility on the opposite side of the Airport. To do this, crews will begin demolishing the Airport’s old Administration Building before expanding the Main Terminal and building the new Red Express Curbsides. Find out how TPA construction may affect your future travel plans..
Learning more about TPA construction
The project is designed to reduce congestion for both arriving and departing passengers while allowing those without checked baggage the ability to get picked up or dropped off, bypassing the ticketing or baggage claim levels.
“This is a game changer,” said TPA Senior Manager of Construction Dan Seeley. “The efficiency of getting in and out of the airport is going to be so much more efficient.”
Before work can begin on the Red Express Curbsides, crews must first begin demolishing the Airport’s 1970s-era, original administration building underneath the Short Term Parking Garage.
“This is like doing heart surgery,” said Seeley. “There’s a building above you, there’s roadways on either side of you. A Marriott Hotel. There’s an FAA Control Tower, there’s an active loading dock.”
Related: Inside Look at TPA’s Sustainable Landscaping
The old Admin building is also part of the support structure for the parking garage, so before demolishing, crews must first put in temporary support beams to reinforce the garage before carefully removing the structure below and upgrading the remaining structural components. That part of the project is expected to take a full year before construction on the new expansion can begin.
This week, visitors to Tampa International Airport will notice a new wall going up along the left side of the main red arrival and departure curbsides. The wall will separate traffic and passengers from the construction zone on the other side.
The future of TPA
Once demolition is complete, passengers can expect roadway work and shifting traffic patterns beginning next spring as construction of new ramps for the Red Express Curbsides gets underway.
Passengers can also expect some major changes in the Main Terminal as the hallway connecting to the Marriott Hotel is opened up to create a large open space, which will include three new pieces of public artwork and updated finishes to match the Express Blue Curbsides and Main Terminal.
The final piece will include a new shuttle station which will eventually connect to the planned Airside D, Tampa International Airport’s future 16-gate international and domestic airside terminal. That project, which is Phase 3 of the airport’s Master Plan, is in the budgeting process with construction planned to begin in the next few years and a completion date currently scheduled for late 2027.
Completion of the Red Express Curbsides and new Airside D Shuttle station in the Main Terminal is expected to be completed by summer of 2025.
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