If you’ve ever heard a difficult task describes as ‘trying to fix the wing while flying the plane,” you’ll understand the complexity of construction at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
The first real effects for passengers, other than constantly shifting roadways and construction detours, are starting to appear. Earlier this month, six airlines changed their places in the existing terminals to allow first steps in removing the old terminals, which are directly in front of new construction. And within a few weeks, in February, a new 3,200-car garage will open, bringing parking and traffic relief. The first new terminal is slated to open in June.
In essence, a complete new 21st-century airport is being built on the same spot as the old one, famously described by Joe Biden as “third-world,” while maintaining a full daily schedule of over a thousand take-offs and landings.
Add in the fact that shifting of the terminal footprint to accommodate more taxiways has meant complete rebuilding of the airport’s roadways, with constantly shifting detours, and you can see why airlines and passengers have been waiting anxiously. The new design, seen above, links all four terminals, and provides not only more gates, but more taxiway to reduce delays. The final stages of the project are to be completed in 2021.
