City Of Denver Considers Adding Another $1 Billion, 7 Years To DIA Great Hall Project
DENVER (CBS4)- The City of Denver is considering adding more than another billion dollars and seven years to the Great Hall Project at Denver International Airport. The goal of the project is to make the airport more secure and more efficient.
The main terminal was built to accommodate 50 million passengers per year, but that number is expected to double in the next 10 years.
The Great Hall Project is split into three phases. Phase One wrapped up in October with renovated check-in areas for United, Southwest and Frontier Airlines and new bathrooms.
Phase Two involves building a new security checkpoint on Level Six and new escalators. That phase is scheduled to be complete in 2024.
Now, DIA is proposing Phase Three which would add another security checkpoint on Level Six, renovate the remaining airline check-in spaces and build a new passenger greeting area on Level Five.
DIA said they are not using taxpayer money to pay for the additional phase. Because the airport is not taxpayer funding, DIA will be using bonds, airline revenue and money from the federal infrastructure bill.
DIA CEO Phil Washington said the time to finish the project is now.
"Prices and costs will only go up and so I've been around a lot of projects where folks do it halfway and all of that... you know we need to do it right for the benefit of our region with the full belief that passenger volumes will increase and we will have to go back and do it again if we don't do it now," said Washington.
The project would cost $1.1 billion with construction set to be complete by the end of 2028.