The $200 million renovation project at Charleston International Airport is nearly complete, and while most o f the projects are getting ready to wrap up, officials say upgrades and changes will continue as long as the city grows.
The sounds of saws and the hammers are almost as common as the noises of a jet engine these days at Charleston’s airport. After more than two years of construction, work is wrapping up.
“We think they’ll be winding their stuff up except for punch lists and stuff like that sometime by somewhere between the end of March and the end of April. They’ll still have punch lists that will probably carry them for the next two or three months and have a crew working to make sure everything works like it’s supposed to,” said executive director Paul Campbell.
The biggest changes will be done by early May, but Campbell says construction crews will be putting the finishing ingredients in the food court for a few months still. He thinks travelers will be able to eat there by the end of summer.
Meanwhile, travelers don’t seem to mind the airport’s evolution.
“I think you have to put up with a little inconvenience if you want improvement and I think you’re doing a nice job,” said Rich Turgeon.
Others just wish they’d had a little heads up.
“If there was a sign that said construction coming I would have been like, okay, but it was just there and then all of a sudden I was like, ‘Wait, am I lost? Am I in the right place? But ya know, all good,” said Debra Weiss.
Campbell says expansion is crucial to keeping up with the city’s growth. He says nearly 3.5 million travelers went through Charleston’s airport last year — and officials didn’t expect to see that many people until 2025.