Pittsburgh Airport Terminal and Bridge Design Featured in Civil Engineering

The $1.39 billion Terminal Modernization Program at Pittsburgh International Airport will drastically change the experience for air travelers. Instead of two buildings connected by an underground automated people mover, a new terminal will combine the airport’s check-in, screening and gate facilities into a single building designed for local travelers. The result will be a modernized airport terminal, better scaled to fit its community.

HDR’s team is leading the site and infrastructure portion of the design, and two of our experts were interviewed about the improvements for Civil Engineering, a publication of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Aviation Director Bill Peduzzi and senior project manager Kevin O’Connor discussed how the design seeks to reflect the character of Pittsburgh and explained how the major bridge at the front of the terminal was designed to act as an aesthetically pleasing destination in itself.

“When you come to Pittsburgh and you land at the airport, the idea is to convey a specific sense of place and not an airport that could be anywhere,” Peduzzi told the magazine. “That informed the development of the concepts.”

The two-level, 1,300-foot bridge provides access to the terminal and acts as passengers’ first and last impression of the airport. O’Connor, the lead bridge engineer on the project, explained the challenges of creating a heavy bridge for vehicles that is also visually attractive and matches the aesthetic of the terminal itself. Slender columns, added pedestrian elements and careful consideration of the visual feel of the bridge combine to create a bridge in harmony with the new terminal building.

Read more in “Pittsburgh draws inspiration for its ‘right-sized’ airport,” from Civil Engineering.