Construction began last week on the first phase of a $45 million project to revitalize Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

The full renovation project will include the installation of a new facade, new terminal flooring and furniture, an aviation museum, a glass pedestrian bridge and a new roof over the airport’s main entrance.

In the first phase of the project, construction crews will remove the canopy above the passenger drop-off zone. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his State of the State address last January called the drop-off canopy “dark and unwelcoming.”

“The main entrance doesn’t communicate to travelers that they’ve arrived to a growing and vibrant regional economy,” he said.

New York state awarded $35.8 million to the airport for the full project. Onondaga County will grant another $1 million and the Syracuse Airport Authority and Federal Aviation Administration will cover the rest.

The airport expects to complete the refurbishment in October 2018.

Christina Callahan, the airport’s executive director, said in January the airport’s roof and mechanical systems have exceeded their useful lives and needed to be replaced. Both were constructed in 1962, she said.

While the canopy is being demolished, the airport will still offer parking in the garage and open lot, according to a press release.

The airport will limit pick-ups and drop-offs to the area near the baggage claim at Terminals A and B, according to the release.

 

Published on September 19, 2017 at 11:25 pm

Contact Kenneth: kmintz@syr.edu