Designing Landside and Airside Components of a Brand New Terminal

Buoyed by steady growth in recent decades, Columbus, Ohio, has become the 14th largest city in the U.S. With the region’s population expected to continue rising, the Columbus Regional Airport Authority initiated a $2 billion effort to replace the current terminal at John Glenn International Airport, which was built in 1958. The new, larger terminal will add capacity, improve the passenger experience and position the airport for ongoing success.

HDR is leading the design of all airside and most of the landside components of the new terminal as a subconsultant to Gensler. On the airside, our work includes design of the apron, stormwater management, two new overnight parking pads, taxi lanes and connections to the existing airfield. Landside design services include new and reconfigured roadways for the airport entrance with a two-level terminal front bridge for departures and arrivals. HDR is also designing the ground transportation center.

Modern, Efficient Terminal

The new 1 million-square-foot terminal will be built in what was parking lots, allowing the current terminal to serve passengers uninterrupted until completion. After the new terminal is opened, the existing terminal will be demolished. 

The new terminal will feature two floors for passengers and a third for administration. With 36 gates, designed for A320 and 737 aircraft, it will accommodate up to 13 million annual passengers. The project also includes a ground transportation center, a public safety building, a concessions warehouse, landside roadways, a new 5,000-car parking garage with connecting pedestrian bridge and an airside apron with taxiway. 

Maintenance of Traffic 

Maintaining access for airport users has been a primary concern. The existing terminal sits beyond the construction site for the new facility, so all travelers will pass the new terminal while it’s being built. 

Addressing this maintenance of traffic issue has required extensive coordination with the contractor. The project is being delivered through a construction manager at risk, or CMAR, delivery method, which lends itself to improved collaboration. During the schematic design phase of the project, it was assumed that all traffic would need to be routed around the construction site for the new midfield terminal. But together with the contractor, our team developed an innovative MOT plan that uses temporary roads through the project site, reducing impact to travelers. 

A Stormwater Solution

Constructing a new terminal means significant new stormwater management needs, and in Columbus our team helped draft a plan that makes substantial improvements over the initial concept. The original stormwater plan for the new midfield terminal assumed that all runoff would be diverted east under the airfield via a new stormwater diversion tunnel to outlet into a nearby creek. But this plan included numerous challenges: a long distance, a slope that goes the opposite direction requiring deep excavations through an active airfield, and bedrock that is close to the surface. Early estimates put the cost of the culvert alone at $150 million or more. 

Rather than accept this expensive option, our team re-examined stormwater possibilities. After considering multiple alternatives, a local detention strategy was developed through extensive storm modeling. Instead of diverting flows under the airfield, two detention basins are planned, near the terminal. Our team has worked to meet City of Columbus as well as FAA requirements to make the basins feasible. By detaining runoff in this manner, using surface and underground storage, we were able to achieve all local and federal water quality standards while using the existing capacity of the current conveyance systems in place at the airport. Pending final approval, they are expected to provide approximately $100 million in construction cost savings to the program. 

Design on the terminal project is expected to be finished in 2024, with HDR continuing to support the airport and contractor through construction.