Nashville Airport's New Horizon project aims to accommodate rapid growth with a $1.5 billion expansion. Concourse D and A upgrades, improved traffic flow, and a unique open-air terrace shape the innovative improvements. Baggage handling and terminal area roadways are also enhanced for an improved travel experience.
Photo courtesy of Nashville International Airport
The New Horizon Plan will transform the airport with a Concourse D extension; a Concourse A rebuild; improved terminal area roadways; and an upgraded baggage handling system.
Nashville International Airport (BNA) has become one of the fastest growing airports in North America. Airport planners are hustling to keep up with the growth. The airport just completed a $1.5 billion expansion called BNA Vision. The airport team has already started another $1.5 billion project called New Horizon, scheduled to be completed in 2028. The New Horizon Plan will transform the airport with a Concourse D extension; a Concourse A rebuild; improved terminal area roadways; and an upgraded baggage handling system.
Photo courtesy of Nashville International Airport
Crews are expanding Concourse D, adding five new gates. This addition is critical, as Concourse A is slated for demolition in summer 2025 to be replaced with a larger, 16-gate concourse. Construction also is under way to improve traffic flow around the terminal and parking garages. This will ease congestion and improve the overall travel experience for visitors.
Another key aspect of the project involves upgrades to the baggage handling system. The new system will be able to sort luggage by flight, expediting security inspections and ensuring faster delivery of checked bags to and from aircraft.
Traci Holton, vice president of New Horizon, is overseeing design and construction.
"By providing more gates, the airlines can expand their schedules and offer additional flights," she said. "The construction also will include moving sidewalks and new areas for concessions to be built out. Our objective is to build quickly and get it open to concessionaires and passengers as quickly as possible."
Rob Myer, project manager of Hensel Phelps, is enthusiastic about the new structure — as a nod to the city's musical roots, the open-air terrace and restaurant at the end of Concourse D will be in the shape of a record — even though it will provide new challenges for his team.
"The construction will require specialized lifts and reach for our equipment as well as some unusual materials," he said. "Many of the materials that are normally installed as straight pieces will have to be formed into curves to fit onto the rounded surface of the structural steel that will make up the record node portion."
Myer estimates that erecting the steel, including the metal roof, and performing the glazing will take the rest of the year for the record node and terrace.
The team will install electrochromic glass in the record node as well as in much of the new construction at BNA. The glass uses an electric charge to change the opacity. More tint in the summer allows less light, limiting the amount of light coming in and heating up the inside of the terminals. In the winter the glass is less opaque, allowing more light to enter, thus providing more heat and will reduce the burden of heating the facility.
Hensel Phelps and team are building foundations for the new gates. Concrete is being poured on an almost daily basis with steel scaffolding in place for building at the higher levels. Throughout the summer, workers worked on utility installation and connecting the fuel lines for later use by the airlines.
Photo courtesy of Nashville International Airport
The airport hopes to have the first gate opened by March 2025 with the rest ready by July.
The work team plans to use some 3,500 cu. yds. of concrete this year with some concrete paving used around the pedestrian bridge foundations and the area near the new gates.
Construction safety issues rise to a new level when working around airlines.
"We have to be careful with our crane utilization," said Myer. "We communicate with the air traffic controllers, so we are sure not to interfere with any of the airplane activity, including their lines of sight. We also walk the perimeter of our construction area, to make sure our equipment and work is within the restricted boundaries and does not impede airfield operations or airline activities."
Myer knows that their work is not just for a better passenger experience.
"As we move along in the construction of Concourse D expansion, we will eventually be taking down Concourse A and building a new one in its place. We hope that the new Concourse D extension will create opportunities for the airlines to grow their operations here because of the extra gates and more flexibility, as the airport continues to grow and develop," said Myer.
Open-Air Terrace
In keeping with the community's status as Music City and the capital of country music, the airport is building a unique open-air terrace and restaurant at the end of the new Concourse D extension, which will be in the shape of a record. A circular clerestory will rise in the middle, mimicking the center of a record and providing additional natural light into the record node portion. The terrace will overlook the Nashville skyline and promises to be a signature feature on the new construction at BNA.
Photo courtesy of Nashville International Airport
Another key aspect of the New Horizon project is enhancing the terminal area roadways. The Tennessee Department of Transportation's (TDOT) eastward relocation of Donelson Pike, a major thoroughfare, is crucial to this effort. However, abundance of rock, ideal for future structures, poses a challenge during excavation.
"It can be difficult to remove out new areas," said Holton. "Work along Donelson Pike requires blasting nearly every day."
This phase alone will necessitate the removal of a staggering 600,000 cu. yds. of rock. However, the airport authority isn't discarding this valuable resource. The excavated rock is being stockpiled on-site for use in current and future construction projects.
In anticipation of passenger growth reaching an estimated 35 million by 2034, the New Horizon program also prioritizes an expanded baggage handling system. CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance feature writer whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 countries. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement construction, chemicals, insurance and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and reading. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. with his wife Kristen. They have seven grandchildren.
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