Pittsburgh International receives another $5.3 million in federal funds for terminal project – Pittsburgh Union Progress

Pittsburgh International Airport has received another $5.3 million federal grant to help with construction of its new $1.57 billion terminal.

The grant is part of $970 million in grants announced Thursday morning by the U.S. Department of Transportation for airport terminals across the county, including three others in Pennsylvania. The grants are the third round of awards from the $5 billion earmarked for terminal improvements under the Biden administration’s $2.1 trillion infrastructure program.

This is the third grant the Allegheny County Airport Authority has received for the new PIA terminal and brings the total to $28.8 million. The project will replace the current terminal that features two buildings joined by an underground train with a single, environmentally neutral building that is scheduled to open in early 2025.

“We’re thankful to our federal partners who understand the positive impact this funding will have on the regional economy and the importance of investing in the next generation of Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure,” Vince Gastgeb, chief government and corporate affairs officer for the authority, said in a statement. “The Airport Authority is extremely proud of the progress we’ve made on the new terminal for Pittsburgh International Airport — and the thousands of jobs it supports — and this funding will help us deliver the new front door to the region that is emblematic of our thriving community today.”

At a briefing for the news media Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the grants will pay for improvements at 114 terminals that will “add up to a better experience” for travelers by making terminals “safer, more efficient and more enjoyable.”

“These are projects that are going to save passengers time and money,” he said.

The grants will range from facilities with several hundred thousand square feet of terminal space to small facilities that currently operate out of trailers. Work will include making facilities accessible for people with disabilities and improving security check points, passenger check in and baggage claim facilities.

“This funding is real,” Shannetta Griffin, associate administrator for airports at the Federal Aviation Administration, said during the briefing. “We are changing lives.”

Other grants in Pennsylvania were $20.4 million toward a $63 million project at Philadelphia International Airport; $7.5 million toward a $15.7 million project at Harrisburg International Airport; and $2.7 million toward a $73.5 million project at Lancaster Airport.

The grants were extremely competitive, Buttigieg said, with the agency receiving 654 applications for about $14 billion.