HOUSTON – All four lanes are temporarily open at Bush Intercontinental Airport in hopes of alleviating traffic during Spring Break.
Augusto Bernal, Houston Airports Director of Communications, said they expect 1.7 million people to pass through the intercontinental airport through Spring Break.
“When we have a big influx of passengers or people traveling like Spring Break, we know what those dates are, and we can adjust to accommodate that increased passenger flow,” Bernal said. “Putting a stop to construction during the day helps alleviate some of the congestion on the roadways.”
He also said they will do the same thing in the days leading up to and during the Final Four.
Bernal said they plan to open the new concourse by the end of this year.
“We are in the middle of building a new international terminal that will be one of the newest, most modern terminals in the US. once substantially completed in late 2024,” said Melissa Correa with the Houston Airport System.
It’s part of the $1. 36 billion Terminal Redevelopment Program, the biggest capital improvement in Houston Airport history.
“This project started because there was a need to add additional capacity to the airport. We were basically maxed out,” Bernal said.
The project includes fully renovating Terminal D with a 17-lane security checkpoint.
“This is one of the challenges of this project,” Bernal said. “We’re building a brand-new international terminal as we’re operating an airport, flights are coming in, flights are going out. We and we still have to build this from the ground up.”
KPRC 2′s Sabirah Rayford reported last year of incidents where people waited hours in their vehicles trying to reach Terminal E.
“It was complete gridlock,” said Kate Good during a May 2022 interview. “I’m a frequent flier. I’m at the airport every week or two and it’s been bad. It’s been very bad.”
“As we have to build the new international center processer, this brand-new facility, in between active terminals, there’s a lot of coordination, logistics, that we need to basically have ready to be able to accommodate the construction and the passengers moving,” Bernal said.
If you’re traveling, he said to be mindful of peak travel hours and as always arrive early.
“This is going to be your Thursday, Friday, and Sunday between 5 and 8 p.m., those are the busiest hours for the airport when we have more people at the terminal,” he said.
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