$500M Okayed for Austin Airport, More May Be On Way

The Austin City Council okayed almost a half-billion dollars in contracts for the expansion of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The five requests total $497.8 million and represent the next major decisions in a series of possible approvals that would total nearly $2.5 billion in the coming months.

The largest single expenditure for the airport on the agenda is a pair of requests related to the design and construction support services for improving the airfield at ABIA. Together, the two items total $346.7 million, which will include replacing existing midfield taxiways to make room for the new concourse structure.

Other requests include $60 million to fund a rotation of engineering and architectural services, $72 million to design the new concourse and tunnel system, and $19.1 million to design and build a new baggage handling system.

ABIA, which opened in 1999, was built to accommodate 11 million annual passengers, but it had over 22 million in 2023.