Last month, the sixth annual national Infrastructure Week was launched bi-coastally in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, CA. Uniting under one message - The future won't wait. Neither can we. It's #TimeToBuild, hundreds of major organizations and thousands of key leaders from American business, labor and government came together to support the critical role infrastructure plays in America’s economy and prosperity.
Highlighting the importance of maintaining and building infrastructure –airports, roads, bridges, rail, ports, water and sewer systems, energy, and more – we can expand transportation options, protect our environment, create jobs ensure that our national economy remains competitive, prosperous, and solid.
Working together with business, labor and government, we can already see the positive impacts of more investment in America’s airports and the benefits for our economy, society, security and future. From terminals, runways, inter-modal transportation centers and cargo facilities, the need to upgrade, enhance and build better airports continues to grow to keep pace with demand.
The new Denver International Airport Hotel and Transit Center is Denver’s largest project to date and the first time an integrated hotel and public transit center have been connected directly to an airport terminal. The Hotel and Transit Center provides lodging, conference space and commuter rail service to and from downtown Denver and serves as a critical step toward enhancing the airport’s competitive standing as a leading global airport and positions it for future growth.
At Los Angeles International, United Airlines Terminals 7 and 8 are already creating a brand experience for passengers through a complete redevelopment and expansion of its airline hub. HNTB designed a new brand experience for United Airlines’ passengers with an emphasis on customer service and using United’s systemwide unified branding icons that are being rolled out across its hubs. The enhanced level of customer service and state-of-the-art technologies incorporated for check-in and processing will make the passenger flow effortless. The project provides high-end, high-touch check-in for United Airlines’ Premier passengers, including United Club amenities complete with an exterior club deck with great views for guests.
At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Terminal D — a new 1.9 million-square-foot international terminal complex, the redesign project included widely diverse elements such as an immigration and customs hall, two ticketing halls, a 23-gate concourse, 8,100-car parking structure, an inter-terminal skybridge and the landside roadway configuration.
Three sets of gates are sized to accommodate the new Airbus A380. As one of the largest airport point-of-entry locations in the U.S. processing close to 37,000 passengers daily, three screening checkpoints with 14 passenger screening lanes allow for 172 travelers to be processed per hour per lane, equaling up to 2,400 per hour for the terminal. Similarly, the customs processing check point allows for up to 2,800 passengers per peak hour which equals 19,000 travelers a day.
Airport infrastructure investment enhances mobility, efficiency and elevates the overall passenger experience at airports nationwide and is at the core of our future economic vitality and global competitiveness.
At Infrastructure Week’s kick-off, Rob Slimp, HNTB Chairman and CEO, joined U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and other infrastructure experts to discuss urban and rural infrastructure systems; business competitiveness and jobs; tech innovation and smart infrastructure; resilience and planning for the future; and funding and finance at the federal, state and local levels.
“There is strong and growing bipartisan agreement that infrastructure is an issue that must be addressed now. However, the funding needed to address aging and obsolete infrastructure, as well as improvements to provide adequate mobility for people and goods, far outstrips what is available at the federal, state and local levels,” Slimp said “Those of us who have made our careers in the infrastructure industry know what we need to do. We need the means to do it. That means we need a long-term sustainable funding plan for infrastructure that includes investments at the federal, state and local levels, along with the private sector.”
HNTB continues as a founding sponsor of Infrastructure Week, a position it has held since the event’s inception six years ago and continues its advocacy to highlight the critical importance of a well-funded, well-maintained U.S. transportation network.
It is incumbent on all of us to drive media attention and educate stakeholders and policymakers about the critical importance of infrastructure to America’s economic competitiveness, security and job creation and the impact on daily lives of every American. Working collaboratively, we have an unprecedented opportunity to bring our infrastructure into the 21st century.
Peter Aarons is West Division aviation director and associate vice president for HNTB Corporation. He has more than 25 years of experience in planning, development, design, program and project management, and construction for airports. Contact him at [email protected].
