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Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport plans to spend $160 million on the next phase of work to prepare for the widening of bustling Concourse D, one of many major construction projects on tap at the world’s busiest airport.
Concourse D is the narrowest of Hartsfield-Jackson’s seven concourses, and becomes crowded during busy periods. Airport officials plan to expand the two-level concourse from 60-feet wide to 102-feet wide and extend its length by 145 feet.
Airport general manager Balram Bheodari has said that at such times, “You have to fight your way through the concourse.” He acknowledged that the restrooms, concessions and other parts of Concourse D are also undersized.
The Concourse D widening is one of a number of renovation and expansion projects the airport plans in coming years. Hartsfield-Jackson’s updated capital improvement program includes $4.2 billion of work through fiscal year 2027.
Airport work is funded through a combination of passenger facility charges, airline lease and landing fee payments, revenue from airport operations like concessions and parking, and federal grants. The revenue streams are often used to back bonds or other financing.
The full Concourse D construction project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
But the Atlanta airport is funding the project in phases. The first $5 million was approved earlier this year for “early pre-construction” planning including reviews of design documents, construction planning, cost estimates and coordination with airlines. Then, last month the airport got $40 million from federal bipartisan infrastructure law funding for the project.
The next round of work to be handled by construction management joint venture Holder-Moody-Bryson-Sovereign will include early work on areas including installation or relocation of sanitary sewer lines, grading of ramp pavement and acquisition of structural steel, passenger boarding bridges, electrical equipment and roofing materials.
Hartsfield-Jackson officials are seeking Atlanta City Council authorization to use $160 million in funding from the airport budget for the project.
With upcoming work around the terminals and concourses, airport officials are separately seeking approval for on-call construction management contracts with four different joint ventures: New South-Synergy, ATL Builders, McCarthy + SG, TUJV.
The four were selected out of ten joint ventures that competed for the three-year contracts with a two-year renewal term. The airport is also seeking approval for $139 million in funding under the on-call construction management contracts this fiscal year.
Other work in the pipeline include ongoing projects to add five gates to Concourse T, extend the Plane Train and make improvements on the airfield. Airport officials also plan to renovate Concourse E, add cargo facilities, build more domestic gates and reconfigure the Terminal North check-in lobby to reflect shifts in how people check in for flights.
