The U.S. Department of Transportation is considering a major redesign of Washington Dulles International Airport, based on a prepublication request for information now posted on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website.
The document outlines scenarios for replacing or substantially reworking the airport’s terminals and concourses, but has not yet been formally published in the Federal Register and still contains placeholder fields for key terms.
Detailed redevelopment scenarios
The RFI provides a level of detail far beyond public discussion to date, outlining potential paths to building entirely new terminals and concourse facilities, as well as options to integrate, modify or replace the Eero Saarinen-designed main terminal that opened in 1962.
Respondents are expected to submit architectural concepts with corresponding visual renderings that illustrate the scale and character of any proposed redevelopment, so that they show interest in a transformation that goes well beyond the usual retrofit.
Unlike the broad public comments made by President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Dec. 2, the document sets out a structured request for technical information.
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The draft calls for rough order-of-magnitude cost estimates for multiple redevelopment approaches, descriptions of financing and delivery strategies, including public-private partnerships, and detailed plans to maintain full airport operations during a multi-year construction program.
It also prompts respondents to identify potential impediments, from regulatory constraints to construction sequencing challenges.
The RFI places the redevelopment within the ambit of Executive Order 14344, “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” signed by the President on August 28. The EO states that any new terminal complex should reflect architecture intended to “inspire the American people,” suggesting that the department is evaluating not only operational and capacity needs, but also the primary aesthetic identity of the region’s international gateways.
A similar architectural emphasis has appeared in recent decisions involving federally owned facilities, including a remodeling of the bathroom in the White House’s Lincoln Bedroom and, notably, the razing of the East Wing for an expansive ballroom that has grown in scale since its announcement last July. Taken together, this latest effort reflects the administration’s broader focus on the visual identity and modernization of federal property.
A terminal replacement at Dulles would rank among the most ambitious US airport redevelopments in recent years.
Comparable megaprojects such as the $8 billion LaGuardia reconstruction, the multiphase terminal expansion at Denver International Airport, and the $14 billion modernization of Los Angeles International Airport required complex sequencing, extensive airside logistics, and long-term airline coordination. These challenges would be no different for a makeover at Dulles.
IAD (Dulles airport code) also occupies a unique governance position among major national hubs. Although the airport is federally owned, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) operates it under a long-term lease until 2100.
DOT reaffirmed that structure in a Dec. 2 statement, noting that the department “holds title to the IAD property” and signed a lease extension through 2100 earlier this year. Any redevelopment path would need to reconcile the federal interest with MWAA’s existing capital program and long-term lease and use agreements with the airlines.
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Technical and recruitment requirements
Public comments have not provided any such specificity. During the Dec. 2 cabinet meeting, Trump called Dulles a “terrible” airport despite praising Saarinen’s terminal as a “great building,” adding that his administration had “an amazing plan.”
A United Airlines wing is located at Washington Dulles International Airport, the carrier’s largest East Coast hub that handles more than 200 daily departures during peak periods. United said it will work with the administration on improvements that are “significant and cost-effective” as federal officials explore potential terminal redevelopment options.
Photo by Tupungato/Adobe/Adobe
Duffy told reporters that the DOT intended to solicit ideas from the private sector. Neither offered details on the scale, design intent or procurement structure reflected in the RFI. These statements were reported by the Associated Press, Reuters and The Washington Post.
MWAA is advancing its own $7 billion capital program that includes a new concourse opening in 2026. In a statement to ENR, Crystal Nosal, MWAA media relations manager, said the authority “appreciates the administration’s interest in making improvements to Washington Dulles International Airport.”
He said MWAA “looks forward to seeing the results of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s request for information and working collaboratively with the administration,” adding that the authority “always accepts[s] new ideas for Dulles, which is America’s fastest growing international gateway airport (year-over-year through September YTD).
Nosal said MWAA intends to “build on the existing $7 billion capital plan for Dulles,” which includes the new concourse being built and expected to open next fall.
The DOT’s Dec. 2 statement also indicated that the department intends to share RFI submissions with MWAA once received and will “work closely with the airport authority” as the process moves forward.
United Airlines, the airport’s largest carrier, previously described Dulles as a “national asset” in comments to the Post and said it will work with the administration on improvements that are “meaningful and cost-effective.” No airline has tackled the scale of redevelopment suggested in the RFI.
Although administration officials have cited recent collisions involving the airport’s aging vehicles, including a November incident that hospitalized passengers, the request focuses on long-term design, financing and delivery issues rather than short-term operational issues.
Reuters reported that the White House sees the incidents as proof of the need for modernization, but the RFI does not mention them directly.
Governance and temporal uncertainty
The timeline for any formal release is still unclear. The version posted on FAA.gov states that industry questions are due 10 days after publication in the Federal Register, and submissions are due 45 days later, but those fields remain open because the notice has not yet appeared in the Register at this time.
The RFI also does not identify the contracting authority or legal pathway that a terminal replacement program would follow, leaving open how a federal initiative of this magnitude would align with MWAA’s operating lease and existing capital commitments.
If released in anything close to its current form, the RFI suggests that the DOT is evaluating concepts that could rival major U.S. terminal redevelopments in scale, complexity and architectural ambition.
For now, the notice remains unpublished in the Federal Register, and DOT has not indicated when or if a final version with firm timelines will be published. ENR will continue to follow developments as additional information becomes available.
