$1.4 Billion for New SA Airport Terminal. (San Antonio, Austin: rail, land, rating)

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by WVNomad

I realize that building an airport is a complex project….political considerations, financial considerations, etc. But from the 30,000 foot level, it seems that building an airport between SA and Austin might be pretty sensible, and could benefit both cities.

How would that benefit both cities, when that airport would be much farther away than the current airports? Where would you put it? It would have to be East of I-35, probably towards Lockhart, to find enough flat space to build all of the runways.

[rynetwo]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

No. It would not rank top 10. You don’t have to look past this state to see grander expansions going on IAH’s new terminal’s price tag is $2 billion. And that’s just one of a few they have going on. DFW’s terminal F project is also higher than $1.7 billion.

The price tag in for the terminal San Antonio isn’t top 10 in the US let alone the world

I used an article from late august of this year.

https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/new...ction/?cf-view

I never mentioned world in any of my posts.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by rynetwo

I used an article from late august of this year.

https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/new...ction/?cf-view

I never mentioned world in any of my posts.

OP did. I’m saying that even in the US specifically, it’s not a top 10 price tag for an airport terminal.

[Remington Steel]

Originally Posted by WRM20

How would that benefit both cities, when that airport would be much farther away than the current airports? Where would you put it? It would have to be East of I-35, probably towards Lockhart, to find enough flat space to build all of the runways.

Well for one, SA current airport is at or near its building space limit, so finding another plot of (flat) land would be the logical choice. With an international airport between us N Austin would attract more commerce and more flights for both cities ever growing populations. People will drive 30-50 miles to an airport if that’s the only option they have. 30-50 miles is not that far.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by Remington Steel

Well for one, SA current airport is at or near its building space limit, so finding another plot of (flat) land would be the logical choice. With an international airport between us N Austin would attract more commerce and more flights for both cities ever growing populations. People will drive 30-50 miles to an airport if that’s the only option they have. 30-50 miles is not that far.

Or just drive the 75 miles to Austin.

[Remington Steel]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Or just drive the 75 miles to Austin.

The point is to have a major international airport with MORE flights, MORE parking, and MORE terminals to service BOTH cities. Austin and SA will more than likely become a mega-metropolitan within the next 20-30 years anyway, so Why not be proactive with a new airport. And add in a some type of public transportation (elevated train line) while they’re at it. That’s part of SA problem now. More reactionary than proactive, hence the constant highway upgrades every year. Build something that’s gonna last at least 50 years, not 5 years.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by Remington Steel

Well for one, SA current airport is at or near its building space limit, so finding another plot of (flat) land would be the logical choice. With an international airport between us N Austin would attract more commerce and more flights for both cities ever growing populations. People will drive 30-50 miles to an airport if that’s the only option they have. 30-50 miles is not that far.

Originally Posted by WRM20

Or just drive the 75 miles to Austin.

Originally Posted by Remington Steel

The point is to have a major international airport with MORE flights, MORE parking, and MORE terminals to service BOTH cities. Austin and SA will more than likely become a mega-metropolitan within the next 20-30 years anyway, so Why not be proactive with a new airport. And add in a some type of public transportation (elevated train line) while they’re at it. That’s part of SA problem now. More reactionary than proactive, hence the constant highway upgrades every year. Build something that’s gonna last at least 50 years, not 5 years.

I recall a study was done to determine if San Antonio could justify a completely new airport to replace the current one, and the answer was something like "No, the current location can be upgraded to serve the metro's needs for the next 50 years". So the result was the new 17-gate terminal that was announced, plus a runway extension out to 10,000' to facilitate more direct flights to overseas destinations.

Airport projects often get partial funding from the FAA, but they have to justify need to get that funding. If San Antonio wasted to go it alone, so to speak, and build an entirely new airport, it would be a massive project that would likely have to be funded entirely by locals. Timeline from land acquisition to opening date would probably be 10 years, best case scenario, and would need to keep sinking money into the current facility to keep it maintained and upgraded, in the meantime.

As for a joint regional airport between Austin and San Antonio, Austin's conversion of the former Bergstrom AFB pretty much eliminated any benefit to Austin to participate in such a project.

[RadiantBaby]

While it's neither here nor there at this point, the fact that San Antonio was short-sighted and didn't use the closed Randolph AFB as an airport is insane.

Yet another example of the city not thinking 10, 20, 30 years ahead. It's been an ongoing theme.

[RadiantBaby]

Originally Posted by Remington Steel

The point is to have a major international airport with MORE flights, MORE parking, and MORE terminals to service BOTH cities. Austin and SA will more than likely become a mega-metropolitan within the next 20-30 years anyway, so Why not be proactive with a new airport. And add in a some type of public transportation (elevated train line) while they’re at it. That’s part of SA problem now. More reactionary than proactive, hence the constant highway upgrades every year. Build something that’s gonna last at least 50 years, not 5 years.

Type this out in ALL CAPS for those who can't hear it in the back.

Amen.

[cjseliga]

Salt Lake City is spending $5.14 Billion to build an entirely new airport, right next to/on top of the old airport and it have just under 100 gates.

Why the Salt Lake City airport is seeking up to $600M in new bonds this year

Work began at the new Salt Lake City International Airport in 2014, six years before the facility was functional in its initial stage.

But so much has changed over the past decade, and what city officials originally had in mind for the airport isn't exactly what they expect the airport to look like when the first four phases are complete in 2027, says Bill Wyatt, the airport's executive director. The current estimate is that the entire cost of the airport will reach about $5.14 billion by that point.

"It's a 13-year capital construction project that has seen several scope changes, which is basically an addition to the work, etc. That accounts for an increase of budget, which accounts for our continuing need to finance the program," he told the Salt Lake City Council Tuesday.