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GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Gerald R. Ford International Airport is offering a sneak peek at a $110 million expansion to accommodate passenger growth.
“Our community is growing and the airport has to keep up,” said Casey Ries, the airport’s director of engineering and planning.
The expansion project will widen Concourse A from 66 feet to 120 feet, and lengthen it from 510 feet to more than 900 feet.
Related: Gerald R. Ford International Airport is celebrating a $110 million expansion to accommodate growth
Eight new gates will be added to the concourse for a total of 15.
The project is expected to create 125 new construction jobs and add 157,000 square feet to Michigan’s second largest airport. It will be paid for using a combination of federal and state grants, municipal bonds issued by the airport and user fees, according to the airport.
“What I’m most proud of with the $110 million investment is that we kept most of that local,” said Jacob Kulhanek, senior vice president and general manager of West Michigan operations for The Christman Company, the general contractor. “More than 95 percent of that investment is actually local to West Michigan’s trading partners.”
The extended section Concourse A is expected to open in June 2023, and the remaining renovation work will be completed in early 2024.
The project also includes additional food, beverage and retail options; an executive lounge; local artwork and natural light “daylight harvesting” to aid efficiency.
“When the sun comes up, the LEDs will actually go down so the energy efficiency increases throughout this space,” said Jim VanBeek, project manager for Bazen Electric. “It’s just a unique lighting control system for an airport.”
Construction of the $110 million expansion of Concourse A of Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. The airport is expanding to accommodate passenger growth. Cory Morse | MLive.com
Inside the construction of the $110 million expansion of Concourse A of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. Cory Morse | MLive.com
Inside the construction of the $110 million expansion of Concourse A of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. Cory Morse | MLive.com
Airport visitors are pictured in a construction window of the $110 million expansion of Concourse A of Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022. Cory Morse | MLive.com
Renderings of the new expansion as part of Ford Airport’s Elevate Program. Photo provided to MLive by The Gerald R. Ford International Airport.Ford International Expansion
Click on the gallery below to see more photos, or click here for a direct link to the gallery.
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Gerald R. Ford International Airport $110 million expansion project
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