The Eugene Airport invited public officials and community partners to showcase their plans and the start of construction for a $450 million expansion.
Many public officials spoke at the Tuesday event, including U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle; University of Oregon president Karl Scholz; Oregon State University president Jayathi Murthy; Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson; and State Rep. Nancy Nathanson.
Construction on the first phase, which includes an expansion of Concourse A, began recently. The hope is that the expansion will help alleviate congestion and overcrowding by opening up the space and adding more seating.
The second phase will add eight new gates to the airport by expanding Concourse C.
Airport Director Cathryn Stephens said they already see the demand for the extra flights that the new gates will fill.
“Basically, once we build them, they will be full already, just automatically. It's that number of people,” Stephens said.
Many of the speakers at the event discussed the added benefit of accessibility to the area, especially to nearby universities.
“The bottom line is we are investing in the innovation corridor with Oregon State, the University of Oregon, with business communities, with our local governments,” said Hoyle.
Stephens said that most of the construction is on the outside of the building, so for now, it should not disrupt travelers. Eventually, there will be some construction walls indoors
The first phase of the expansion is already funded. The airport doesn’t have funding lined up yet for the second phase, which is estimated to cost $240 million.
