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Traffic at Nashville International Airport is expected to reach 20 million annually by 2035, which is why the airport is being expanded. / Nashville International Airport
Music City makeover Billion-dollar redevelopment of the Nashville International Airport a boon not just for the city, but for the A/E/P firms handling the project.
By RICHARD MASSEY Managing Editor
The redevelopment takes place as Tennessee, and more specifically, central Tennessee, maintains its place as a hotspot for direct foreign investment in areas like Cookeville, Smyrna, and Lebanon. The airport redevelopment also arrives as another $17.7 billion in work either begins, or continues, at major airports in New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. While the collective in- vestment is no doubt impressive, it is also typical of a nation with an advanced transportation system, says Mike Boyd, founder and president of aviation consultancy Boyd Group International. “I don’t know if it’s a golden age,” he says, refer- ring to the airport construction boom. “It’s part of a process that’s been ongoing.” Airports, he says, are responding to market de- mands and, he adds, responding to the presence of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is reconfiguring travel patterns. “Traffic is going up,” he says. “It’s not episodic. It’s evolutionary. It’s not like this is a sudden trend.”
F aced with unprecedented traffic that is only ex- pected to grow, the Nashville International Air- port is planning a $1 billion redevelopment, and at the center of this effort will be the architects and engineers who will spearhead the design, construc- tion, and management of a transformative project in one of the nation’s hottest markets. “Traffic is going up. It’s not episodic. It’s evolutionary. It’s not like this is a sudden trend.” By 2035, metro Nashville is projected to surpass 2.5 million people, and airport travel is expected to grow from 12 million annually to 20 million. Al- ready behind schedule, Nashville has set an aggres- sive timeline to at least finish two of the projects – the parking garage and the international arriv- als building – by 2018, all while keeping the gates open.
Mike Boyd, Founder and President, Boyd Group International
Robert Ramsey, Chief Engineer, Nashville International Airport
In particular, however, Nashville – currently dotted
THE ZWEIG LETTER September 19, 20
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