Governor Chris Christie and Port Authority officials broke ground this morning on the overhaul of Newark Liberty International Airport’s 44-year-old Terminal A to provide travelers with a 21st-century facility, creating jobs and boosting the regional economy. Today’s event highlighted the commencement of work to build three roadway bridges designed to reduce congestion and help connect the central terminal area roadway network to the new terminal.
This is the first of several major construction segments that will lead to a new Terminal A and expanded service for airline passengers.
“Newark Liberty International Airport is an essential economic engine for New Jersey, generating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in activity,” Gov. Christie said. “Providing state-of-the-art terminals and an unparalleled customer experience is critical to ensuring reliable, on-time departures and arrivals, improving quality of life, boosting economic growth opportunities and enhancing tourism in this state. This project is especially important, given an expected surge in air travel demand and the fact that EWR serves as one of the most prominent U.S. gateways for travelers and businesses from all across the world.”
“The existing Terminal A first opened to air passenger traffic more than 40 years ago, and it has outlived its useful life,” said Port Authority Chairman John Degnan. “The new terminal will accommodate more passengers, modern airline fleets, and top-rate customer services and amenities.”
The new state-of-the-art terminal will include 33 gates, a parking garage complex to accommodate approximately 3,000 spaces and related infrastructure improvements. It will have the capacity to accommodate 13.6 million passengers annually, while retaining the flexibility for future growth and expansion, serve larger aircraft and meet changes in passenger demand. The new Terminal A will be constructed through a design-build process, which combines design and construction services into a single contract with a private-sector partner, to expedite construction and transfer project delivery risk.
The new terminal will be delivered in a phased approach to minimize customer impacts and will be fully operational in 2022. This $2.4 billion redevelopment program, approved by the Port Authority Board of Commissioners in March, is expected to create more than 10,000 jobs and $998 million in direct payroll wages, and generate $3.9 billion in regional economic activity.
