RDU Airport, NC – The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority today held a ceremonial groundbreaking to mark the beginning of construction on its Terminal 1 modernization project. Over the next 18 months, construction crews will transform the terminal, which will include replacing the blue exterior panels.

“Terminal 1 has served RDU well for more than 30 years,” said RDU Airport Director Michael Landguth. “With this renovation, it will serve RDU and our passengers for many more years.”

When the terminal is completed, passengers will experience a transformed terminal with more natural lighting, renovated ticketing and bag claim areas and a larger security checkpoint. New shops and restaurants will also debut in the terminal.

The construction manager at risk for the project is D.H. Griffin-Balfour Beatty Construction, A Joint Venture. The architect is Raleigh-based Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee.

The terminal is set to be completed in early 2014.

Major Elements

One concourse featuring 9 gates
Second level security checkpoint with 4 lanes and expanded queuing area
Completion: Early 2014
Extensive natural lighting
Updated ticketing and bag claim areas
Four works of art
New shops and restaurants
On concourse: Large windows to provide panoramic view of airfield

Fast Facts

Total Cost: $68 million
Size: 166,000 square feet
Will accommodate up to 3 million total passengers a year
Nine narrow body gates to accommodate regional jets, as well as Boeing-737 and Airbus 319 and 320 aircraft
Airlines: Southwest and AirTran
Three baggage claim carousels
Fully automated in-line baggage screening system to screen checked luggage
Architect: Pearce, Brinkley, Cease + Lee of Raleigh
Construction Manager at Risk: D.H. Griffin-Balfour Beatty Construction, A Joint Venture
Number of construction workers: 300 – 350 at peak of project
Primary materials used in project: Glass, steel, metal panels, translucent panels
Funding: Cash
Number of subcontractors: 37; North Carolina-based: 24
History

Terminal A opened in the early 1980s to accommodate the growing number of flights and passengers at RDU.
Original plans for Terminal A called for the facility to one day be converted into a general aviation hangar.
Tremendous growth in the mid-1990s required the reopening of the north end of the building, which was built in 1955.
Due to continued growth, RDU built the south concourse, featuring five gates.
In 2011, the main section of the building, the “blue box,” was closed when US Air and Continental moved to Terminal 2. The building was then renamed Terminal 1.
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