KUSA – Denver International Airport is getting bigger. On Tuesday, airport leaders joined Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, airline officials and city council members to show off plans and kick off construction of a $1.5 billion gate expansion project.
“This is Denver Mayor Michael Hancock,” the mayor said into a handheld radio. “We are go for demo.”
On cue, an excavator ripped off a section of roof from a building at the far west end of Concourse B. The demolition marked the beginning of a project that won’t be complete until spring of 2021.
“We are here today to talk about our adding 39 gates by 2021,” said Kim Day, CEO of DIA. “That’s about a 30 percent increase in our capacity, so this is a big deal.”
New gates will be added to all three concourses. Here’s a breakdown of the additions.
- Concourse A-West – 12 gates
- Concourse B-West – 4 gates
- Concourse B-East – 7 gates
- Concourse C-East – 16 gates
The project will also add new concession stands and restaurants to the concourses.
“We’re going to have outdoor spaces on the ends of some of the concourses, so it’s going to really be a nice thing for passengers,” Day said.
Last year, 61.4 million passengers passed through the airport, a more than 5 percent increase over 2016. Day said DIA will likely remain the fifth busiest airport after the gate expansion as other airports continue to expand. However, Day pointed out that DIA’s growth is not limited by nearby development.
“Other airports become encapsulated by development,” she said. “We can still grow. So, we can grow this airport to over 100 million passengers.”
All 39 new gates will be operational by spring of 2021. Four gates will be open on Concourse B-West by 2020. The gate expansion project is one of several big projects in DIA’s $3.5 billion, five-year capital improvement program.
“We’re really preparing this airport for the future,” Day said.
