St. Petersburg-Clearwater International announces $145M ‘modernization’ project
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport is looking to bring what it says are some much-needed upgrades to the 85-year-old airport.
Michele Routh told 8 On Your Side things like infrastructure need attention.
Section of West Riverwalk along University of Tampa campus nearing completion
“We really need to do a full modernization. Some of it is things like a new sanitary sewer line, a new roof, the two jet bridges that we currently have; we need to replace those,” she said.
Routh said the airport was focusing on a terminal expansion project but started shifting its priorities when infrastructure needs became apparent and the cost of the terminal project started to balloon.
“The conceptual design was happening. At some point in time, price tag comes with that, and we had a $110 million budget at that time, and we were proceeding on a design for about a $210 million project,” she said.
Connor Zombek said he’s flown in and out of the airport a few times a year for the last eight years. He said this is what he’d like to see:
“I don’t think necessarily they need to go bigger. I would like maybe some food options, some things like that just to make the wait a little bit more comfortable,” he said.
Routh said because construction is still a way away, passengers won’t be seeing any changes for now.
“Design will take about a year and a half, so a lot of the elements of the project, passengers aren’t going to see for quite a long time,” she said. “I don’t think you’ll see construction again until 2028.”
Routh added that the airport will pay for the project through grants that it has secured, in addition to passenger facility charges. The Pinellas County Board of Commissioners still needs to approve the project.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.