{"id":328636,"date":"2026-07-03T17:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T17:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/328636\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T17:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T17:58:08","slug":"inside-the-fence-tampa-international-airport-opens-airside-d-construction-site-to-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/328636\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the fence: Tampa International Airport opens Airside D construction site to media"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB<\/a>) – Tampa International Airport invited media inside the secure construction zone Wednesday for a behind-the-scenes tour of Airside D, offering a firsthand look at progress on the airport\u2019s first new airside terminal in nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n

The $1.52 billion project is the centerpiece of the final phase of Tampa International Airport\u2019s long-term master plan. When it opens in 2029, the 600,000-square-foot terminal will add 16 gates for domestic and international flights.<\/p>\n

The project has entered its vertical construction phase. More than 6,200 tons of structural steel \u2014 roughly 7,400 individual pieces \u2014 are being assembled alongside prefabricated elevator shafts, shuttle bridges and the framework that will eventually support the terminal\u2019s roof, glass and passenger facilities.<\/p>\n

TPA approves final design for new terminal<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of the ground is the best part,\u201d said Dan Seeley, director of construction at Tampa International Airport. \u201cAfter months of working in the ground to our standing structure of steel and doing what we\u2019re doing right now is really gratifying for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeley said the airport wanted the public to see that progress firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that the team and the community sees what we are building out here,\u201d he said. \u201cTo see it\u2019s a great project. It\u2019s a strong project and this is one of the best places to build in Tampa Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin Curry, general superintendent for Hensel Phelps Construction, said the project differs from a typical commercial building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thought processes that go into that too is completely different than your average hotel, condo or apartment \u2014 anything else you see around the skyline,\u201d Curry said. \u201cIt\u2019s a once-in-a-lifetime project. There\u2019s not many billion-dollar projects that you\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Curry said approximately 200 craft workers are on site nearly 24 hours a day. That workforce is expected to grow to between 1,500 and 2,000 workers during peak construction over the next two years.<\/p>\n

Airport officials said Airside D is made up of seven major construction projects taking place simultaneously. Although much of the Tampa Bay area has experienced drought conditions in recent months, airport officials said the dry weather has helped crews stay on schedule.<\/p>\n

Curry outlined the project\u2019s progression by year.<\/p>\n

\u201c2026 was foundations and steel,\u201d he said. \u201c2027 is going to be interiors, glass, roof and then 2028 is a lot of commission and turned things on, getting it ready for that flight in 2029.\u201d<\/p>\n

When complete, the terminal is expected to help the airport grow from serving approximately 25 million passengers per year to an anticipated 35 million annually by 2037.<\/p>\n

Seeley said the airport is pushing to stay ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really pushing the envelope to try to drive the schedule forward,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to push really hard over the next couple of years and open in 2029.\u201d<\/p>\n

Airport officials said they plan to host additional behind-the-scenes tours every few months as construction continues.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WWSB. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – Tampa International Airport invited media inside the secure construction zone Wednesday for a behind-the-scenes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135654,135657,135,135656,137,135653,136,135655],"class_list":["post-328636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-airside-d-terminal","tag-hensel-phelps-tampa-airport","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-airport-new-terminal","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-international-airport-construction","tag-tampa-news","tag-tpa-expansion-2029"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}