Reno-Tahoe International Airport is under construction again.
The $47 million, 17-month-long Gateway Project, which began Monday, is an effort by the airport authority to improve the first impression and service given to the 4 million passengers per year who use the airport.
The project is expected to employ about 275 construction workers as the baggage claim receives a new look, a second-floor atrium is constructed and the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, restaurants and retail shops are relocated.
"The project will bring 275 jobs to our community when we need them most," said Krys Bart, airport authority CEO.
The $40 million funding will come from federal funds, passenger facility charges from tickets and airport revenues. SSP America, the airport food concessionaire; Paradies, an operator of many of the retail shops; and IGT, which runs the gaming machines, also invested $7 million in the project.
Travelers passing through the Reno airport will get their first taste of the region with improvements to restaurants, which will feature local beers and wine as well as ingredients from local farmers. The Lake Tahoe theme will continue through baggage claim with tile installation to mimic the Truckee River, rock-wrapped columns and the muted chrome ceilings, which will tie into the work already done in the check-in area two years ago.
Airport officials said that most passengers won't notice the project except for being rerouted to avoid construction zones. They are trying to cut down on the inconvenience for travelers as December is a slower time for the airport. Typically, March and August is when it is the busiest.
"We are excited about the whole project because it's going to finish the airport off," said Norm Dianda, president of Q&D Construction, who is in charge of the construction.
His company also completed the airport's $63 million dollar project in 2009 that moved baggage screening equipment behind the remodeled check-in area.
The baggage claim remodel is expected to last until April.
For now, incoming passengers will follow the green arrows outside the terminal lobby, around the corner and back inside to baggage claim to retrieve their bags. The walls blocking the first stage of the construction temporarily close the main path many regularly use.
In April, phrase two begins with the construction of a state-of-the-art security checkpoint in the area where the first-floor food court is now located. The two security checkpoints on the second floor will merge into one checkpoint on the first floor, allowing for the latest screening technology.
"The new security checkpoint will allow for the airport to be a TSA test site for new technology," airport spokesman Brian Kulpin said.
Kulpin could not reveal what machines will be introduced at the airport yet because of national security regulations.
The airport held off on installation of body scanners and other screening technology until renovations are completed on to the terminal originally built for the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. The airport will have the latest technology on the West Coast to make it easier and less invasive on customers, Kulpin said.
Construction on the second floor of the airport will occur concurrently. The roof will be raised to 18-feet tall, and the building extended 40 feet onto the ramp to construct an atrium.
The new food venue will be located in the atrium, just past the escalators, and it will offer travelers views of arriving and departing planes through 18-foot windows. More retail also is incorporated into the design with new shops such as outdoor clothing store No Boundaries, electronics store InMotion Entertainment and a newsstand by CNBC slated to open.
During the second phase of construction, the main dining options on the first floor will be Peet's Coffee and Tea and the new diner, which is scheduled to be open in April in the spot near the skier statue in the first floor airport lobby. Food and beverages also will be available on the concourses for travelers.
"The airport has come through during tough economic times to create work within our community," Dianda said. "We are going to be having something that is world-class and will provide the future of this airport for a long time."
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