By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

Managers of the state’s largest airport marked the beginning of the construction of a new $445 million terminal with a groundbreaking today in Des Moines. Airport executive director Kevin Foley says it has taken some time to get things planned and underway.

“It started back in 2014, and while there has been a lot of movement and a lot of things going on in that time period, this is the culmination of all that effort. So this feels fantastic,” Foley says. He says 65% of the people who leave the state by air fly out of Des Moines. Foley says it will give the airlines and passengers more space.  “It’s a 50% increase in the number of gates. But coupled with this, we have also built some space,” he says, “we took some automobile parking, and converted it into what is called RON parking, remain overnight for the aircraft, so that we can park six more airplanes over there. Let the airlines launch a flight, then they go to an airplane up.”

Foley says the new terminal will replace the original which had been added onto several times. “It was started in 1948, and then it’s been added on and added on. The concourses themselves we’re in the late 60s, and the last piece, which is bag claim, and we’re gonna save that piece of the building that’s going to be converted into office area for administration, but that was built in the 90s.”

The plan is to have the building itself will be completed in 2026 and then they will tear down the existing terminal and get the road in by 2027.

“Then there’s two more phases. So hopefully we can push on and continue on with phase two and three,” he says. The project includes federal, state and local funding. Polk County voters will be going to the polls to vote on allowing the county to take out $350 million in bonds for the project.