INDIANAPOLIS � The people responsible for construction of the new Indianapolis International Airport want everyone to know the $1.07 billion project is on budget and on schedule.
During a recent media tour of the unfinished facility, John Kish, project director for the Indianapolis Airport Authority, said the new airport was having an impact on everyone in the community, regardless of whether they were even aware of the project.
�With the scope and cost of this project, it�s as if we are spending $1 million a day for three years,� he said. �And 75 percent of that money is staying in Indiana.�
Construction on the project began in earnest in 2003 when the Federal Aviation Administration and the IAA broke ground on the new air traffic control tower. This past summer all operations were transferred to the new tower, the third tallest in the nation, and the old tower was recently demolished in a controlled explosion.
The new 1.2 million square foot terminal building is scheduled to open in late 2008 and is expected to serve the air transportation needs of the state for the next 30 years.
Kish said weather could still be a factor in estimating the exact completion date, but if the facility cannot be opened by October of that year, airport officials would likely wait until 2009, after the holidays pass, before holding a grand opening.
More than 1,000 doors, 10,000 light fixtures and 11,000 tons of steel are required for the project. The state-of-the-art facility will have 10 moving sidewalks and 23 elevators and escalators.
Kish said a glass enclosed �Civic Plaza,� with a ceiling six stories high, abundant retail space, and room for public gatherings is the jewel of the new terminal.
�This will truly be a facility we, as a city, can be proud of,� he said. �With the new Civic Plaza, passengers can sit in a beautiful area, with the best view of downtown around, and have a latte while they wait for their plane.�
More than 7,000 parking spaces will spread across 2.5 million square feet of available parking and a ground transportation hub will provide commercial shuttle, bus, and limousine service to and from local hotels.
This is the first commercial airport built in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the extensive changes to FAA airport regulations that followed. New guidelines, like a new baggage terminal with a special room for workers to immediately pull and isolate any suspicious packages, have been incorporated into the plan. Also, an underground fuel delivery system will mean fewer fuel trucks on the taxiways.
Chris Walter, project safety director for Hunt/Smoot, tasked with completing the Midfield building, said despite the new security measures and the pressure of building the first airport under stricter FAA guidelines, the job is much the same as any other building project.
He said most of the workers hired for the project are local contractors, people who have grown up in central Indiana and have a stake in the community. They know how important the airport is to the local economy, what the project means for their friends and family, he said, but they are more concerned about doing the best possible job than they are about dealing with imagined pressure.
�Most of these guys don�t even know it�s the first airport being built since 9/11,� Walter said. �Working on a big project like this means taking a certain sense of pride in what you do, and they have that. But to them, it�s just another project � nothing out of the ordinary.�
Local News
Related Photos
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Eventually standing six stories high, the glass enclosed Civic Plaza at the terminal is expected to be a central gathering poing. Jerry Battiste/ Flyer photos
Indianapolis airport terminal on schedule
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