b'42 AVL TERMINALSAsheville Regional Builds New Terminal on Top of Its Existing Facility BY PAUL NOLANLarge or small, landside or airside,other preliminary work for Phase 2 will move forward in the next all airport construction comes withseveral months, but construction of the second half of the terminal unique challenges. As one of thecannot begin until the new air traffic control tower has been fastest-growing airports in the United States,commissioned. Crews broke ground on that $50 million project in Asheville Regional (AVL) in North CarolinaJanuary 2023, and completion is expected in spring 2026. is battling a particularly formidable set ofThe existing air traffic control tower is more than 62 years old and circumstances. The mission for President/Chieflocated within the existing terminal, which also dates back to the Executive Officer Lew Bleiweis and his team:LEW BLEIWEIS early 1960s. The new tower will be an entirely separate structure. demolish their woefully undersized terminal and rebuild a larger version on the same footprintwithout interruptingThe new terminal is the primary component of AVL Forward, service.a $420 million capital improvement program that has been a long time coming for the air gateway to Western North Carolina. If that strikes you as a difficult feat, youreThroughout the years, the region has become a popular vacation not alone. destination, with tourists flying into AVL to enjoy the Blue Ridge We think this is one of the most complexMountains, top-rated mountain biking and the regions vibrant arts aviation projects that is going on in thescene, foodie culture and frothy lineup of craft breweries. country, says John Baumeister, operationsAs Bleiweis explains, it took AVL nearly 60 years to hit the 1 manager for construction manager at riskmillion annual passenger mark. But after it surpassed that seminal Hensel Phelps. I have not done somethingmilestone in 2018 and again the following year, the airport quickly like this on such a small footprint.JOHN BAUMEISTERexceeded 2 million annual passengers in 2023. With 43% growth in In June, AVL and its project partners completed Phase 1 of the2019, AVL would have likely served more than 2 million passengers two-phase $370 million terminal expansion. Select demolition andin 2020 had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, adds Bleiweis.October 2025AirportImprovement.com'