It's a good idea to “think backwards” when heading to the airport, but with major construction projects underway, that may become less necessary.
To get through the upper and lower drives of airport terminals, “thinking backwards” is actually the best option. Please head to the departure deck to be picked up. Please use the arrival deck when disembarking. If you go against the current, you can usually get through much faster.
But if you've been to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) recently, like I was yesterday, you've probably noticed all the construction going on in the upper and lower drives just before the terminal. Crews are excavating the west side of both approaches and installing two new retaining walls. All of this is part of a $79 million project to widen the road to the terminal.
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The airport is also adding two lanes for arriving vehicles, expanding from four to six lanes.
“We will have two dedicated lanes on the lower drive and one lane for all complimentary shuttles entering the third floor of the garage,” said Perry Cooper, senior manager. Port of Seattle media personnel told KIRO News Radio. “Another lane will be added on the outside that will lead directly to the airport garage.”
It is to reduce congestion at the terminal. Two dedicated lanes to the top deck. His two dedicated lanes to the lower deck. Dedicated lane for ground transportation and dedicated garage parking lane on the third floor.
The project also includes a new pull-out area for the rental car shuttle just before the garage. There, passengers load and unload their luggage.
“That's where the rental car facility's bus will park, pick you up and take you to the rental car facility,” Cooper said. “We are moving the motorcoaches out of the driveway and off the lower driveway to make it available for regular cars.”
There is already a corresponding drawer at the south end of the garage.
“This is expected to reduce the congestion seen on night flights, particularly between 8pm and 8.30pm,” Cooper said. “Everyone is trying to reach that lower goal,” he said.
The off-site parking shuttle will move to the third floor of the garage along with all other ground transportation.
For airport managers, this all means squeezing new capacity out of smaller sites. Moving the road a few feet to the west was the only option to widen it.
“We put light rail on the east side. How do you add lanes when light rail is right there?” Cooper asked. “We don’t have the space, so the only option is to push it west or create a new retaining wall space.”
It's the same belief when expanding an airport within a terminal. There is no space to build. This isn't Denver, where there's almost unlimited land at the airport.
You probably noticed the construction going on near the Alaska Airlines check-in and all the work going on between the upper and lower floors. Airports are adding check-in services to spaces in between.
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And don't miss the huge crane above the C concourse.
“In the middle of an airfield, you don't usually see things that high because things are flying at you,” Cooper said.
The airport will add four new floors to the concourse, nearly tripling the square footage. Going up is the only way to really expand.
This is all part of a $5 billion improvement that will continue through 2026.
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