PETE FLAHERTY COMMISSIONER TOM FOERSTER CHAIRMAN DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION BARBARA HAFER COMMISSIONER STEPHEN A. GEORGE DIRECTOR ROOM M 134, TERMINAL BUILDING GREATER PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PITTSBURGH, PA 15231 (412) 778-2500 DEVELOPMENT OF TOE MIDFIELD TERMINAL IROJECT CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT REPORT GREATER PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL PROJECT Greater Pittsburgh International Airport February 1987 The County of Allegheny, through its Department of Aviation, has undertaken the planning and design of a new Midfield Terminal at Greater Pittsburgh International Airport (the Airport) based on recommendations in the Airport master plan approved in 1979. The proposed Midfield Terminal consists of a landside building, a commuter terminal and central services building, an airside terminal connected to the landside terminal by an automated underground people-mover system, related airfield access, and special purpose facilities. The generalized layout plan for the Midfield Terminal is presented in Figure 1. BACKGROUND There is currently a shortage of aircraft parking positions (52 jet and 19 commuter) at the Airport. Because of this shortage, the capacity of the Airport would be constrained in future years. In addition, the terminal ramp is extremely congested during peak hours. The Midfield Terminal is designed to correct the current imbalance between airfield and terminal capacity at the Airport. In 1984, the County analyzed the aircraft taxiing and delay costs associated with the use of the existing terminal and the proposed Midfield Terminal. The main conclusion of the analysis was that, because of more efficient runway use, development of the Midfield Terminal could result in potential annual cost savings associated with aircraft taxiing times and delays of $10.5 million to $12 million. These cost savings would result from an estimated average savings of 2.3 to 2.5 minutes per aircraft, on a daily basis, in the total time spent landing, taxiing to and from a gate, and taking off. Savings for USAir would be even greater (about 3.5 minutes per aircraft) because USAir's connecting complexes at the Airport consist of periods of concentrated landings followed by periods of concentrated takeoffs. Such peak hour aircraft operations would be better served by the more efficient runway use associated with the Midfield Terminal. It was also concluded in the delay analysis that air traffic control complexity and workload requirements would decrease with the use of the Midfield Terminal.
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There is also a critical shortage of curb space at the existing terminal. During 1986, the Airport accommodated 2.9 million originating passengers. The existing curb length for enplaning and deplaning passengers is about 1,900 feet. Internally, the existing terminal especially the public circulation corridors is extremely congested during peak hours. In 1985, the Airport had one of the highest ratios of enplanements (10.2) per square foot of all large hub airports, second only to Chicago O'Hare (12.9). Also, the layout of the existing terminal is inefficient and inconvenient for passengers connecting at the Airport connecting passengers totaled 4.5 million in 1986 and are growing in number and share. PLANNING AND DESIGN OF THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL A new Midfield Terminal for the Airport was recommended in the 1979 master plan as the most efficient and cost effective way to provide facilities for the projected increase in passenger activity. Four alternatives for accommodating passenger activity were reviewed, including development of the existing terminal site, the midfield site, and two other areas on the Airport. In the master plan, the Midfield Terminal was preferred over the other alternatives because of its potential for further expansion and the continuity of operations that would exist during the construction period. The Midfield site was the "least cost alternative" among those evaluated in the master plan. In examining the existing site alternative, the master plan report stated that "...continuation of terminal activities in their present location would essentially require building a new terminal and access system at the existing site. Due to the constrained facilities of this site, it would be more desirable to build a new terminal at an alternative site..." The County has been designing the Midfield project since adoption of the Airport master plan in 1979. All aspects of the design have been extensively coordinated with the airlines serving the Airport. The County intends to award the site development contract for the project this spring. Development of the Midfield Terminal will be accomplished in phases. The first phase is designed to provide 62 jet aircraft parking positions (gates) and 25 commuter aircraft parking positions
to serve the 9.7 million enplaned passengers forecast for 1993. The Midfield Terminal will be expanded beyond the first phase as necessary with an ultimate capacity of 100 jet gates. That ultimate capacity is consistent with the ultimate airfield configuration set forth in the Airport master plan and is forecast to be sufficient to meet Airport requirements well beyond the year 2000. The first phase of the Midfield Terminal is expected to be operational by 1992. CAPACITY ENHANCING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL The proposed Midfield Terminal would enhance the capacity of Greater Pittsburgh International Airport in the following areas: Jet aircraft gates and commuter aircraft parking positions Runways, taxiways, and apron area Passenger connections Curbside access Short-term and long-term public parking facilities Customs processing Connecting and local baggage sorting and handling Future expansion flexibility Aircraft Gate and Parking Capacity The existing terminal has been expanded to its ultimate capacity for accommodating jet aircraft parking gates (52). Additional gates would either require extensive facility costs or would have to be accommodated through the use of hardstands and associated busing. The existing terminal also does not have the flexibility to accommodate the larger aircraft that the Midfield Terminal is designed to accommodate. Currently/ all of the jet aircraft gates at the Airport are in active use by the airlines serving the Airport. During peak periods, aircraft are sometimes unable to access interior gates because of the single taxilane between the Southeast and
East Docks used by USAir, the Airport's primary tenant. USAir and other tenant airlines have requested additional gates at the Airport to accommodate their forecast service increases. The County has responded to this request by preparing a gate management policy whereby individual airlines would be required to share gates as needed during peak periods until the Midfield Terminal is ready for operation. Not only would the Midfield Terminal increase the number of jet aircraft gates available at the Airport, but it would also provide for the ultimate expansion to 100 gates. In addition, the commuter airlines other than USAir are scattered at gates throughout the existing terminal. The County would like to consolidate these airlines into one area, for efficiency and safety but has no space available. At the Midfield Terminal, all commuter operations would be handled in a separate terminal adjacent to the landside terminal with a separate ramp area. Airfield Capacity and Aircraft Delay In the 1984 aircraft delay analysis, it was concluded that greater runway capacity would result from the more efficient runway uses associated with the Midfield Terminal. The Midfield Terminal would allow greater use of the three parallel runways without the penalty in taxiing time that would occur for the same runway uses associated with the existing terminal. For example, with a future peak hour demand of 135 aircraft operations during VFR conditions in a westerly flow (occurring 61% of the year), a flow rate of 131 operations per hour could be achieved with the Midfield Terminal compared with a flow rate of 121 operations per hour with the existing terminal. Peak hour flow rates with the Midfield Terminal would be 2 to 7 operations greater than with the existing terminal for all other weather conditions and flow directions. Since the 1984 delay analysis was prepared, USAir has significantly increased the peaking characteristics of its Pittsburgh operation, and has provided information indicating more operations in the peak hour in future years than was used in the delay analysis. With the Midfield Terminal, more operations in the peak hour would result in even greater operating time savings over the existing terminal than reported in the delay analysis.
The apron capacity with the Midfield Terminal will be greater than with the existing terminal for a number of reasons. First, there is a limited area on the apron at the existing terminal for a departure queue to Runway 14. In general, any queuing at Runway 14 causes congestion on the apron. Second, there will be dual taxilanes on all sides of the Midfield airside terminal; only a single taxilane exists at many locations on the existing terminal apron. Third, the Midfield Terminal apron will have more capacity to hold aircraft waiting for a gate. There is virtually no capacity to hold aircraft on the existing terminal apron this problem would increase at the existing terminal as traffic increases. Another advantage of the Midfield Terminal is that the development of future runways crosswind and fourth parallel would tie into the Midfield Terminal system more efficiently than the existing terminal system. The existing terminal apron has 10-inch thick pavement and requires constant repairs. The Midfield Terminal apron would have 16-inch thick pavement and is designed to withstand the weight of larger aircraft. Passenger Connections In the existing terminal, USAir occupies gates on two different concourses the Southeast and East Docks. As a result, passengers connecting on USAir flights often are required to go to a gate on the other concourse to make their connections (see Figure 2). Passengers can either board a bus and be transported between concourses or walk to the other concourse through the main terminal, unnecessarily passing through security screening again. Each alternative requires more time than would be required in the facilities designed for the Midfield Terminal. Moving walkways in the Midfield Terminal will reduce the average time required to reach the gate of a connecting flight and there would be no need to pass through security again. In addition, a people mover will link the Midfield landside and airside terminals to minimize average walking distances and travel times to and from aircraft gates and the landside terminal facilities.
Southeast Dock N Greater Pittsburgh International Figure 2 &l Airport
8 Curbside Access As mentioned earlier, there is inadequate curbside at the existing terminal for enplaning and deplaning passengers, resulting in significant congestion and delays in pickups and dropoffs. The County has determined that expanding the curb length of the existing terminal would require extensive roadway and terminal reconstruction, reconfiguration, and expense. In comparison, the Midfield Terminal would provide greatly expanded curb length for enplaning and deplaning passengers about 50% more linear footage than at the existing terminal. Public Parking Facilities Public parking facilities at the existing terminal site have been developed to the greatest extent possible. There are 636 short-term and 4,428 long-term parking spaces at the existing terminal. Current demand exceeds supply for on- Airport parking. In fact, the Airport currently accommodates about 50% of the total demand for parking spaces. The remaining demand is being accommodated by independent off- Airport operators, with a total of about 4,800 spaces. Currently, there is no parking garage at the Airport. Construction of a garage at the existing terminal would displace far too many spaces to justify such construction. The Midfield Terminal includes a parking structure with about 2,300 public parking spaces and a rental car ready and return facility encompassing 850 equivalent public parking spaces. In addition, there will be 6,000 surface spaces for long-term parking in the first phase of the Midfield Terminal development. Customs Processing The Midfield Terminal would provide a significantly expanded and more efficient federal inspection services (FIS) area for international passengers. The current international facilities consist of 6,917 square feet compared with the proposed Midfield Terminal facilities consisting of 43,150 square feet. The Midfield FIS facility is designed to process 480 passengers per hour in a two-stop design.
Baggage Sorting and Handling As part of the Midfield Terminal development, the Airport's primary tenant, OSAir, is considering the construction of an automated baggage sorting and handling facility. The mechanized sorting systems under consideration would greatly reduce the average processing times required with the manual system in use at the existing terminal. The manual baggage handling and sorting process has caused numerous flight delays and lost bags for USAir passengers. Future Expansion Flexibility The County intends to prepare the entire Midfield Terminal site in the first phase of development. Therefore, future expansion can proceed without disruption to operations, and would be less costly. UNPRECEDENTED PUBLIC INVESTMENT The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the County together have committed $127.5 million to the project (on a two-for-one matching basis). A public investment of this magnitude for a major expansion project at a hub airport is unprecedented in the airport industry. The County and the State have made this commitment in recognition of the economic development potential of the Midfield Terminal for Western Pennsylvania. In addition, the County would like to provide adequate and convenient service to the traveling residents of the region and to other passengers using Pittsburgh who are connecting on flights to more distant locations throughout the country. PROPOSAL FOR FEDERAL GRANTS-IN-AID The estimated construction.cost of the Midfield Terminal is $503.1 million in escalated dollars. The primary sources of project funding will be Airport revenue bonds and public investment. Federal grants-in-aid are projected to be the third largest source of project funding. Because of the magnitude of the project and its associated costs, the County and the airlines serving the Airport are relying heavily on federal grants-inaid.
10 The table on the following page sets forth the project elements and costs (stated in millions of escalated dollars) which are considered to be eligible for federal funding under the parameters of the current Airport Improvement Program (AIP). As shown, all of these costs, except the public portions of the terminal building and the people mover system, would be eligible for 75% funding under the current AIP. The public portions of the terminal building and the people mover system would be eligible for 60% of the Airport's appropriated entitlements. In total, about $129 million in federal grantsin-aid could be awarded to the County for the Midfield Terminal project. For large hub airports, the current federal/local grant participation ratio is 75/25. The County is requesting the Federal Aviation Administration to consider a 50/50 match of the local public investment ($127.5 million) pledged for the project. A federal grant of $127.5 million would be less than the amount which could be awarded to the County for the Midfield project under the current AIP funding parameters. The assurance of such federal grants-in-aid would greatly enhance the feasibility of the project. The Midfield Terminal project is one of the few major expansion projects being proposed in the nation that not only will enhance the capacity of the Airport and the national airport system, but also is ready for immediate construction. The County intends to award site development bids in May or June 1987. Site development is one of the major elements of the project eligible for AIP funding. It would be advantageous for the County to secure a grant commitment from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Midfield Terminal project prior to the award of the site development contract.
11 PROJECT COST ELIGIBILITY Midfield Terminal Project (in millions of dollars) Project costs With 5% Base Contingency Eligible costs 75% Entitlement participation participation Site development Basic terminal building (public portions only) People mover system Terminal apron Access roadways/structures Airport surveillance radar Funding eligibility AIP award potential $ 43 $ 45 $ 45 x 75% $112 $129 54 35 $89 _a $17 a. Eligible for 60% of the Airport's appropriated entitlements estimated to total $28 million over the FY 1987-FY 1992 period, or $17 million.