Entrances and Exits of KCI Airport Terminals to be Restricted to One Lane
Work is underway on the modern, $1.5B New Terminal at Kansas City International Airport. Dubbed Build KCI, the project will replace the aging three-terminal complex and will be built on the site of Terminal A, now demolished. The construction of the New Terminal and garage will necessitate some shifts in traffic patterns to and from terminals B and C. Work will be done in phases. Airport users are urged to allow extra time and be mindful to changing traffic patterns.
The first significant change will be lane restrictions this Sunday evening August 11, with construction work beginning Monday, August 12. This will include reducing the entrance and exit bridges of terminals B and C from two lanes to one lane. All lanes of traffic inside the terminal circles will remain open.
This initial work is toward eventually establishing two roundabouts for access into and out of terminals B and C. The roundabouts are slated to open in mid-2020. The New Terminal and garage will extend from the former Terminal A site to the KCI Airport Police building near the air traffic control tower. Construction will eventually require closure of the western side (front end) of International Circle, which links the terminals. In mid-2020 inbound Cookingham Drive traffic will be diverted across the median into the eastern side (far end) of International Circle. Two-way traffic will be established on International Circle to Terminal C then to Terminal B. Roundabouts will feed traffic into and out of the two terminals. Full-depth repairs on the lanes of eastern International Circle occurred in May to improve the surface prior to directional changes.
To create the roundabouts and other related infrastructure, a series of construction phases will occur starting August 11. The one-lane terminal entrances and exits will remain in place through the duration of the phases, so airport users should allow extra time for the next year.
Ground breaking on Build KCI was March 25. Much work has occurred with the installation of fencing, clearing and demolition of Terminal A and its garage, closure and asphalt removal of Circle Lots E-1 and E-2.
Build KCI
At just over one million square feet, the Kansas City International Airport New Terminal, Build KCI, is the largest single infrastructure project in the City’s history. It will have a lasting economic impact on the region in the form of new jobs, opportunities for local and small businesses, and a first-class traveler experience for airport users. The facility will open with 39 gates and the ability to expand up to 50 gates in the future. The New Terminal will also include a 6,300 space parking structure, which will be constructed adjacent to the terminal building, a central utility plant, and landside and airside improvements.
Led by the Kansas City Aviation Department, Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate and Clark | Weitz | Clarkson, the Build KCI project is expected to generate up to 5,000 construction-related jobs. Sixty local partners are already at work on the project, including 41 minority- and women-owned businesses. The project will be funded using 100 percent tax-exempt debt – the most cost efficient approach for the project.
When complete, the new facility will replace the airport’s aging terminals, which opened in 1972. The New Terminal will be built in the footprint of the airport’s existing Terminal A, which has been decommissioned. The New Terminal is expected to open in early 2023.
Additional details of the project are available at BuildKCI.com and kci-edgemoor.com or on social media at @BuildKCI and @kciedgemoor.
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Media Contact:
Joe McBride
Joe.McBride@kcmo.org
816.243.3164