29 AirportImprovement.com July | August 2026 TERMINALS BWI In 2005, when Terminal A/B originally opened, Southwest operated 122-seat and 137-seat aircraft. Since then, the airline has increased operations as well as the size and seat count of its aircraft, with the 175-seat Boeing 737-800 as the new standard. Shank explains that this left the holdrooms and associated terminal facilities, including the outbound baggage handling system and checked baggage inspection system, undersized, impeding Southwest’s operations and growth. “They needed more capacity; that was important to them,” he relates. “What was important to us was passenger amenities and connectivity.” Griffin describes the partnership with Southwest as a critical element of the project. “Even the construction schedule reflected the close coordination,” she says. “We committed to completing the new baggage system before the 2025 holiday season, and our team met that objective.” (See Page 40 for more details about the baggage system project.) Ready, Set, Reassess Planning for the monumental project began in 2017, with work separated into three packages: site preparation, the baggage handling system and the concourse connector. In a first for the airport, the A/B connector and baggage system project was delivered using the Construction Manager at Risk method, a departure from BWI’s traditional design-bid-build approach. Changing to the different method, Shank says, allowed for early contractor involvement, enabling value engineering throughout the design and construction phases. It proved to be a collaborative and schedule-prioritizing process that resulted in the project being delivered on time with savings upwards of $100 million, he adds. But it wasn’t a smooth, easy path. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted progress, and BWI leaders, like so many others, pumped the brakes on design and construction procurement. When paused on April 1, 2020, overall concourse design was at 60% completion. The first construction package, which included early mobilization and site utilities, was complete and ready for Board approval. Construction Package 2, the baggage handling system, was being evaluated for best value; and bidding documents for Package 3, the concourse structure and fit out, were being prepared for advertisement. As the uncertainty of the pandemic started to ease, BWI revisited the project and determined it could not be supported in its original $523 million version. “We somehow had to eliminate program without eliminating the product,” Shank recalls. “So what we did was simplify the program.” In collaboration with airport officials and stakeholders, the project team undertook a comprehensive redesign of the program to meet the new budget. Value engineering studies were initiated in winter 2020 and a new design started in January 2021. The new value-engineered design simplified architectural features, eliminated a previously specified lower level, deferred adjacent concourse refurbishments and enhancements, and optimized the overall structure for more cost-effective construction. The design still, however, met BWI’s key goals: construction of a direct connection between concourses A and B; an updated and optimized inline baggage system; and new concessions space, modernized restrooms and improved ramp and management spaces for its primary tenant, Southwest. Pre-construction work for the project resumed in May 2021 and construction began in January 2022. Griffin commends the BWI team and its partners for being able to pivot during the pandemic to ensure the project could move forward. FACTS&FIGURES Projects: Concourse Connector; Baggage Handling System Location: Baltimore/Washington Int’l Thurgood Marshall Airport Owner/Operator: Maryland Aviation Administration Key Benefits: Meet current needs of airlines & passengers; create additional capacity to support future growth Cost: $520 million Funding: Airport revenue bonds ($330 million); MD Transportation Trust Fund; Airport Improvement Program grant Scope of Concourse Connector: 141,000 sq. ft. added to Terminal A; 84,000 sq. ft. renovated/repurposed space; 5 gate areas relocated & updated Timeline: After COVID-related pause, enabling work resumed May 2021 & construction began Jan. 2022; baggage system operational Oct. 2025; Gates A1-A5 & associated concessions operational Dec. 2025 Prime Designer/Engineer: Jacobs Civil: Airport Design Consultants Inc. Concept Architect: Abstract Group Inc. Architect of Record: The Sheward Partnership LLC Program Manager: AECOM Construction Manager at Risk: Clark Construction Construction Manager/Inspection for Site Prep: Parsons Mechanical, Plumbing: JMT Electrical Installation: Freestate Baltimore Lighting Components: GVA Lighting (via Alliance Lighting); Gammalux Lighting Restroom Faucets: Sloan Temporary Construction Walls: Pro Class A from SwiftWall Baggage Handling System Designer: VTC Baggage System Design Oversight & TSA Coordination: Studdiford Technical Solutions LLC Geotechnical Engineer: Robert B. Balter Co. Security Installation: M.C. Dean Moving Walkways: Schindler Construction Manager/Inspection for Baggage System: WSP Baggage System Contractor: Siemens (Vanderlande Logistics) Explosives Detection System Manufacturer: Leidos Planning Engineering Environmental Industry Analysis Program Management Construction Administration Business & Financial Planning www.deltaairport.com DELTA AIRPORT CONSULTANTS, INC.
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