CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queen City's airport is getting a crown ... of sorts.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport's upper-level roadway will be closing on Sept. 27 at 10 p.m. through Oct. 12 at 4 a.m. so a 146,000-square-foot canopy can be built.
This portion of the $603-million terminal lobby expansion project should take two weeks. The whole expansion project should finish by 2025 and will feature new ticket counters, original artwork, designated charging stations, enlargened security checkpoints and pre-security concession sites.
Airport officials are encouraging travelers to allow extra time when dropping off or picking up passengers due to the roadway closure. When people arrive at the airport, they will be redirected to the lower level for both arrivals and departures. The airport said it will have more employees outside helping travelers during the first week to prevent any snags.
However, passengers will not be able to check in curbside during the construction, so all travelers will need to check in inside the airport at the appropriate airline's ticket counter.
There will be a few doors open on the upper deck for emergency exit purposes, but that's it.
The Daily North Lot will be converted temporarily into the cell phone lot to hopefully ease any traffic congestion during the construction. In turn, the current cell phone lot will temporarily close while the canopy is being built.
People who take the shuttle bus will be picked up and dropped off at the arrivals/baggage claim level in the bus lane in zone 2, according to the airport. Those who use the newly introduced curbside valet check-in will need to go to the first level of the hourly deck to use the service.
The canopy is just part of the two-year-long terminal lobby expansion project that includes removing the blue canopy system in place currently and replacing it with the newer version of the canopy.
Charlotte's airport is often ranked as the fifth busiest airport in the world. Just in 2021, 43 million passengers traveled through CLT. The airport handles an average of 1,400 arrivals and departures every day.
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