Archer Western Joint Venture Completes Construction of New Gates at DFW Airport’s Terminal C

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW Airport) has opened five new gates in Terminal C. Gates C35-C39, known as The High C Gates encompass 80,000 square feet and accommodates American Airlines' domestic flights with narrow body aircraft or regional jets.

Archer Western Construction, along with Joint Venture partners H.J. Russell and Phillips/May Corporation, and designer PGAL, led the design-build of the airport project that demolished and rebuilt the Terminal C High C Gates in historic and innovative fashion.

"The partnership between our design-build team and DFW Airport resulted in a project that delivered a first-class facility, while accelerating leading-edge construction technology," said Michael Whelan, President of Archer Western's building division.

Demolition of Terminal C's furthest gates - 33, 35, 36, 37 and 39 - began in February 2021. In April 2021, construction began on four new gates, built as six prefabricated modules at a remote site next to the airfield. A fifth gate was renovated and opened as Gate C35.

"If we were building on-site, we could not start construction at the terminal until the foundations were built. The prefabrication method saves four-to-five months off the schedule because we're demolishing and building simultaneously, instead of a start-to-finish construction type," said Ellen Wilson, Senior Project Manager at Archer Western.

The prefabricated modules, each weighing 900,000 pounds, were made of steel frames, glass walls. concrete floors and insulated metal panels, along with roofs made of concrete and poly-iso roof membrane. Upon completion, each module was lifted and moved approximately one mile across the airfield, navigated underneath the existing Skylink guideway, then placed at their final location at Terminal C.

"This is a paradigm shift in terminal development where historic constraints and limitations are being waived," said Khaled Naja, Executive Vice President of Infrastructure and Development at DFW Airport.

The carefully planned operation was performed by self-propelled modular transporters during six overnight shutdown periods at the airport – August 26-September 4 and September 8-9. This delivery method was the first-of-its-kind at a U.S. airport.

The new High C Gates opened to the traveling public on June 1, 2022 and are nearly 30% larger than other DFW gates. The space offers a focus on technology and sustainability, including dynamic self-tinting glass on the 16-foot-tall windows, smart restrooms and a variety of video screens for wayfinding and airport information.

Archer Western Construction is part of The Walsh Group, a 124-year-old family-owned company providing design, build, finance, operation and activation services throughout the building, transportation and water markets. The Walsh Group operates as Archer Western Construction, Walsh Construction and Walsh Canada across 21 regional offices and is consistently listed among the top U.S. contractors per Engineering News-Record, including a current ranking as the third largest airport builder in the United States.