The money is about to start flowing, but the details remain a work in progress on redevelopment of a key portion of Reagan National Airport.
The board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) last month agreed to spend up to $108 million over an eight-year span for architectural and engineering services in preparation for redeveloping Terminal 1 and adjacent areas at the airport.
Where things go from there, however, is an open question.
“We are very early in this process, so we don’t have any budget or timeline at this point,” MWAA spokesperson Emily McGee said.
The authority is working with Southwest Airlines, the largest tenant of Terminal 1, to find ways to smooth the redevelopment process.
As part of a newly inked use agreement between the airports authority and carriers using its two facilities, there will be billions of dollars available for capital improvements at Reagan National and Dulles International airports. That funding would help support replacement of the existing nine-gate Terminal 1 concourse (known to some as the “banjo” owing to its design and as “Terminal A” to others for its previous designation).
There also would be an upgrade to the airport’s fuel farm and relocation of some support functions.
In addition to Southwest, Terminal 1 is home to Air Canada and Frontier. Dating to the 1960s, it is the oldest part of the 83-year-old facility still in use for passenger boarding.
