Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW/KDFW), TX, USA

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) had developed a comprehensive capital development plan. This plan involved investing $2.6bn in the airport's infrastructure over six years.

The airport's plan involved expansion through construction of the new Terminal D, which opened in July 2005. The expansion was ordered in 2000 and completed in five years. The total cost was $2.7bn.

Before the expansion DFW had four terminals: A, B, C and E. After Terminal D opened all international operations were transferred to the new terminal and the rest of the terminals operated domestic airlines.

DFW is the third-largest airport in the world in terms of operations and the seventh-largest in terms of passenger numbers. The land area at the airport is approxmiately 18,076 acres, which is the largest in Texas, the second-largest in the US and the third-largest in the world.

It has seven non-intersecting runways and a helipad, all made from concrete. The airport has 174 aircraft gates and handled 57 million passengers during 2008.

Air travel growth

DFW had planned its expansion to capitalise on the projected growth in domestic US air travel, which was expected to grow from 650 million embarkations per year to almost one billion by 2009. International air travel is expected to almost double over the next ten years.

Development plan

To accommodate the projected increase in aircraft operations described above, the 1991 Dallas/Fort Worth airport development plan identified two primary areas for improvement:

• Reducing delays on the existing runways and taxiways, including enhancements to the service/cargo road system, primarily around the west terminal.
• Increasing overall capacity. The cargo roads will provide routes necessary to mitigate usage of service roads by cargo and aircraft service vehicles. A portion of these cargo roads will also provide access during construction.

Terminal D

Terminal D opened on 23 July 2005. The terminal's surface area is 186,000m² and its total cost was $1.2bn. It has 28 replacement jet gates. An area of 9,290m² has been allocated for dining and shopping areas.

The route from Terminal D to Terminal C is via a sky bridge equipped with moving walkways meant for pedestrians. Terminal D can handle 11.7 million passengers per year. The construction of Terminal D outstripped the existing system's ability to move passengers between terminals. An automated people mover (APM), skylink, a high-speed airport train system connecting all the terminals and the largest of its type in the world, was installed.

Skylink was acquired from Bombardier Transportation. Skylink operates on two tracks and provides a system of vehicles, stations and guideways that limit the unassisted walking distance to a maximum of 2,000ft between any two gates, as well as ensuring that connection times do not exceed 30min. The airside guideway alignment also required the relocation of existing aircraft parking positions and the mitigation of ramp control line-of-site obstructions that may have been created by the APM.

Airport-wide fuelling system upgrades satisfied the additional storage capacity required while updating the emergency fuel shut-off system. There is also an integrated 298-room Grand Hyatt hotel in Terminal D.

Circulation roads

A number of projects were identified for improving public access and customer satisfaction. A project consisting of terminal circulation roads and buses addresses the inter-terminal connectivity of non-secure passengers. Service road safety concerns are addressed by the addition of acceleration and deceleration lanes.

Overall roadway improvements were planned for the north, south and west sides of the airport and parking was addressed via several projects. The north shuttle parking lot was expanded by 900 spaces, a larger garage provided at Terminal B, section B and the existing rental car lots converted in to surface parking upon the opening of the new consolidated rental car facility.

Funds

Major projects are being funded by DFW's discretionary funds. Included is an expansion to the administration building on East Airfield Drive to accommodate both existing needs as well as the additional staff projected by 2003.

With the implementation of the airport's $2.6 billion capital development plan, it is estimated that DFW's investment will generate an additional $34 billion in economic impact on the North Texas economy, and an additional 77,000 new jobs over the next 15 years.