Indianapolis International Airport

Flying forward The Midfield Project will give Indianapolis International Airport modern amenities, room to grow, and a much different first impression for travelers to the city, Keith Regan reports. When the new main terminal at Indianapolis International Airport opens at the end of October 2008, passengers will be experiencing an entirely new airportÔÇöthe result of a $1.1 billion, seven-year project that revamps nearly everything at the facility. ÔÇ£We call it the new airport project because, to passengers, it will seem like an entirely new airport,ÔÇØ says John Kish, who is now executive director of the Indianapolis Airport Authority and who spent six years directly overseeing the project. ÔÇ£Everything except the runways is new.ÔÇØThe upgrade addresses everything from the approach to the airportÔÇöthe Indianapolis Department of Transportation completed a new interchange project on Interstate 70 in 2004ÔÇöto parking and circulation as well as passenger amenities and facilities for baggage handling and security. The projectÔÇödubbed ÔÇ£MidfieldÔÇØ because it locates the terminal between the two main runwaysÔÇöhas been on the drawing board since the airport authority completed a master planning process in the mid-1970s.The airlines that fly out of the airport approved the funding (no state or local tax funds were used) in early 2001. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the project was delayed slightlyÔÇöthe original opening date was late 2007ÔÇöand designed to accommodate additional security functionality. ÔÇ£September 11 caused us to rethink the timing, but we thought the impact on aviation would be short-term, and we turned out to be correct,ÔÇØ Kish says. Passengers will also find a more pleasant traveling experience inside the 40-gate terminal, Kish says, with the number of shops, restaurants and other amenities doubling from the current facility. The centerpiece of the terminalÔÇöas designed by HOK and carried out by lead contractors Hunt Construction Group and Turner ConstructionÔÇöis a Civic Plaza designed to replicate Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The plaza will be surrounded by 90,000 square feet of retail and food vendors. An extensive art installation will also enhance the visual experience, capped by a 35-foot-tall sculpture dubbed ÔÇ£CardinalisÔÇØ that features a wing from an F-14 fighter jet.Because the terminal was designed and built with current security protocols in mind, that part of the travel experience should also go more smoothly, Kish adds. The passenger screening facility will be able to accommodate as many as 22 lanes of passengers at once, and the security system and baggage screening will be powered by a $22 million Inline Screening System made by Siemens. Behind the scenes, airlines will have more room for handling and storing baggage as it moves in and out of the airport. The new terminal will also have the capacity to be set up for international arrivals, something the airport authority expects to see more of in the future, as recent fuel price spikes have curtailed some of the existing flights to Mexico and Canada. The facility was built with environmental sustainability in mind as well as security. For instance, it relies heavily on natural lighting not only to reduce energy consumption but also to assist passengers with finding their way. ÔÇ£We think the natural light makes a fairly intuitive path through the airport,ÔÇØ says Kish. Most of the major construction work was completed by early 2008. By early July, contractors were focusing on interior finish work and installing closed-circuit television systems and other amenities. Once the bulk of the work is done, Kish envisions several weeksÔÇÖ worth of training and systems testing to ensure the facility is ready to be put into service on the planned date of October 28. The 1.2-million-square-foot terminal is built for growth, able to handle the current 8.2 million passengers that pass through the facility each year and accommodate another 30 years of growth at current projections, with some components built to be easily expanded. ÔÇ£There was an emphasis on expandability in the baggage areas and in the main terminal,ÔÇØ Kish says. For instance, as many as 40 more gates could be added around the terminal. ÔÇ£The facility can be expanded in several directions.ÔÇØOutside the terminal, a five-story parking garage will accommodate 5,900 cars and 1,200 rental vehicles. With surrounding surface parking, the airport will have 17,000 parking spaces. Other components of the project include a new air traffic control towerÔÇöbuilt with a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and the third-tallest airport tower in the USÔÇöand a new airport fire station. The massive construction project did not go off completely without a hitch. In January 2007 a steel tower failed, causing a four-month delay in the planned steel erection schedule. Still, even with that delay and the fact that the project was being built during a time of skyrocketing prices for building materials such as steel and concrete, the project has been able to stick to its original $1.1 billion budget, says Kish. ÔÇ£After 9/11, we added another $40 million into the budget for baggage security, but otherwise weÔÇÖve worked hard to stick to that original price projection. Our challenge was to deal with all those threats to the budget, and weÔÇÖre proud to be able to say we did that.ÔÇØ The airport was first built in 1928 and since then has been modernized a number of times. The plans call for the existing terminal to be shuttered once the new facility is open, but long-range plans are not finalized yet. Kish says it is likely the terminal will be razed and the space used for a future development project. Today, 190 flights leave the airport daily, with most of the flights departing for other destinations within the continental US. Airlines that fly out of Indianapolis include American, Continental, Delta, Southwest, AirTran, Frontier, Air Canada and Midwest. The city is also a major hub for FedEx, with an extensive night departure schedule for the package handler. Kish says passenger traffic through the airport usually comes out about half leisure travel and half business. Regardless of why theyÔÇÖre flying, those passengers will soon have a new experience when they arrive at the airport in Indianapolis. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖll be giving people flying into the city a much different feel for the city than they were getting in the past,ÔÇØ Kish says. ÔÇ£The mission we undertook was to create a more pleasant experience for the traveler. We think itÔÇÖs going to make a great first impression.ÔÇØ┬á