U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday toured the new terminal under construction at Pittsburgh International Airport, touting the work President Joe Biden’s administration has done to support such infrastructure improvements nationwide.
“It was important for us to have Pittsburgh be one of the last places I travel to in an official capacity because there’s so many examples here of what’s going on through President Biden’s infrastructure package,” Buttigieg told reporters from inside the new terminal, standing under 4,000 individual lights that adorn the ceiling, reminiscent of constellations.
His sweep through the region Friday included a tour of Pittsburgh’s rivers to discuss the locks and dams that keep commerce flowing, a ride on Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s subway system from the North Shore to Downtown Pittsburgh and a visit to the United Steelworkers of America headquarters.
It finished with a 15-minute walk-through of Pittsburgh International Airport, where exterior construction on the new terminal is complete and crews continue to work on the interior.
Construction on the $1.57 billion terminal project is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
The project includes a new 811,000-square-foot terminal and about 6,000 additional parking spots in a new garage and nearby lots.
Officials have lauded the new terminal as a way to make the airport more efficient for travelers.
The landside terminal will directly connect to the airside terminal through a pedestrian walkway. Baggage won’t have to travel as far as it does now, meaning it will arrive at the carousel quicker.
The automated tram that takes passengers from the existing landside terminal to the airside one will be eliminated. The tram costs about $4 million to run each year, airport officials have said.
Airport officials said it’s unclear what will become of the existing landside terminal.
The new terminal will have 12 security gates, including one designated solely for families with children. It also will feature food options and massive windows where people will be able to watch planes landing and taking off.
The massive project is funded by fees from airlines, airport authority revenue and $25 million from the federal government.
Biden’s infrastructure investments have helped to fund the new landslide terminal, as well as upgrades at the airside site.
Buttigieg on Friday described the airport project as “one of the largest and most significant in the country.”
During a brief tour, Buttigieg walked through portions of the site that eventually will become TSA security checkpoints, baggage carousels and atrium space.
Paul Hoback, the airport authority’s chief development officer, highlighted outdoor terrace space that will be available for travelers and robots that will help TSA agents move bags.
Biden last April briefly visited the construction siteafter a speech to union Steelworkers in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Buttigieg’s visit comes after the Biden administration on Friday announced nearly $5 billion in grants for over 560 projects that will benefit all 50 states, Washington D.C. and U.S. territories through Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The awards announced Friday include:
• $1.1 billion for 123 projects aimed at improving passenger and freight rail safety and strengthening supply chains
• $146 million to strengthen intercity passenger rail service
• $544 million for 81 projects throughout the country that will reconnect communities cut off by prior transportation infrastructure projects
• A $1.3 billion investment in critical surface transportation infrastructure projects
• $332 million to continue modernizing critical airport infrastructure
• $785 million to expand transportation infrastructure in rural communities
• A $635 million investment to expand zero-emission electric vehicle charging infrastructure
Biden’s infrastructure bill also funded the $25.3 million reconstruction of Pittsburgh’s Fern Hollow Bridge, which was rebuilt in less than a year after it collapsed into a ravine in Frick Park in January 2022. Biden had been in town touting the infrastructure investment the day the bridge fell and adjusted his schedule to see the fallen bridge that day.
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He returned later that year to survey progress on the reconstruction project and tout his administration’s infrastructure investments.
The infrastructure package also has provided more than $170 million for building out electric charging stations in Pennsylvania, about $100 million for high-speed internet upgrades statewide and $87 million to replace lead service lines throughout the Keystone State, including about 7,000 waterlines in Pittsburgh.