Lambert Expansion: Terminal Is Cleared For Takeoff.

By Rowland Stiteler / August 04, 1996

Lambert Expansion: Terminal Is Cleared For Takeoff

St. Louis - Lambert International Airport, with one of the fastest-growing passenger levels in the United States and a runway expansion plan (BTN, April 8) that officials say won't get off the ground until the next decade, has announced terminal modifications that will ease foot-traffic flow among TWA passengers changing planes.

The changes, which will cost about $6.6 million and are on a fast-track construction schedule for completion next summer, would link the airport's B and C concourses and allow travelers to walk between them without going through additional security checks. Currently, passengers going between the two concourses must pass out of one secure area and into another, adding time that's sometimes in short supply when changing planes. Airport officials calculate that the new construction will save the average passenger moving between the B and C concourses three to five minutes, which they say can seem like an eternity when someone is late for a flight.

Aviation director Leonard L. Griggs Jr. said the construction project also would include more room for airport shops.

The big-picture construction plan for the airport, which would add what local authorities say is a much-needed runway, continues to wind its way through a lengthy evaluation process. Federal Aviation Authority officials say they are considering two expansion plans after sifting through more than 30. An FAA spokesman said the agency is considering three courses of action over the expansion plan: It could recommend no expansion, which is considered highly unlikely, or it could recommend building a new runway to the north or south of the current main runway area. Various suburbs that would be affected by the airport expansion have debated the numerous plans for more than five years. All parties agree that the rapidly growing number of flights makes runway additions essential.