PHOENIX, AZ — This week the Phoenix City Council approved a plan, touted as the roadmap for the future, which contains proposed projects that would reshape Sky Harbor Airport over the next 20 years. It will now go to the FAA, which needs to approve it.
Known as the Comprehensive Asset Management Plan, it would alter operations around the airport. Part of the plan calls for adding a walkway to connect terminals three and four, as well as additional improvements to each. Cargo and support operations would move to the north side of the airport, which would require trenching, or lowering, the railroad track to allow for the creation of a taxiway bridge to accommodate airplanes.
Sky Harbor Airport saw roughly 45 million passengers last year. Officials project that number to soar to roughly 70 million people annually by 2039.
"We need to continue to be strategic about how we think about an airport that's located essentially in the center of the city that wasn't originally planned for 45 million passengers a year," said Assistant Airport Director Deborah Ostreicher.
If the FAA approves the plan, each individual project would need to be approved by the Phoenix City Council. The projects would be staggered and take place over the next 20 years. The total price tag comes in around $5.7 billion, but officials say funding would come from sources including grants and airport revenues and not local tax dollars.
The last long-range plan was put together in 2010, according to officials at Sky Harbor Airport.
For a full list and breakdown of the proposed changes, you can find them HERE
