State and local officials, airport partners and community members gathered in mid-December to break ground on the planned $2 billion terminal at John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio.
Construction of the terminal, which will replace one built in 1958, is being overseen by construction manager at risk Hensel Phelps.
The terminal will include a pedestrian bridge, an entrance canopy, and a main house, market, and east and west concourses. It is being built in what is currently a parking lot, south of International Gateway, the main entrance to the airport from Interstate 670.
The new terminal, which is scheduled for completion in 2029, will provide passenger access on two levels of pavement for departures and arrivals and a pedestrian bridge linking it to the ground transportation hub, which will include the facility of rental cars and a new car park with 5,000 spaces. garage It will also have a centralized security checkpoint near the entrance to streamline the screening process.
The terminal will have 36 gates, including two international gates, and will be centered around a light-filled central market that emphasizes local food and beverage options.
The start of construction follows a year of failed negotiations between local unions and the authority to reach an agreement that union leaders say would ensure workers receive prevailing wages and other benefits.
“[The airport authority] has insisted on allowing contractors to sign the agreement or not, which obviously defeats the purpose of a community agreement because it’s not an agreement unless everyone signs it,” said Columbus Secretary-Treasurer Dorsey Hager/ Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council.
Despite union complaints, Hensel Phelps project executive Chuck May said his company and the airport authority will pay the prevailing wage.
Image courtesy of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority
“Hensel Phelps and the authority have voluntarily committed to pay workers labor rates equal to prevailing wages and fringe benefits, along with the aim of supporting local workforce development through the project,” May said .
He added that Hensel Phelps has also publicly committed to a 25% diversity business partner goal, which equates to $400 million in contracts for small and local businesses, as well as minority-, women- and veterans
Despite assurances from Hensel Phelps, Hager said not having an agreement will negatively affect the project, which will compete for workers with other large projects in the area that have agreements.
“It’s just going to create a breeding ground for organizing, and there’s going to be union representatives and organizers on the job every day and they’re going to talk to workers and people who don’t get paid the highest wages, don’t get paid per diems or bonuses and get them out of that job and they’re going to put them to work for Honda, Intel and other job signing contractors,” he said.
May said Hensel Phelps is proud to be a part of this “transformational” project and is “dedicated to meeting the airport authority’s goals for the project’s budget, schedule, safety, quality and community development.”
The new terminal will be able to handle 13 million passengers a year, surpassing the 8.7 million passengers who traveled through John Glenn and Rickenbacker Airport’s passenger terminals combined by 2023.
