The East Terminal Infill project at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport moved forward Aug. 8 with Austin City Council's 7-0 approval of funding for the project.

The $62.25 million project will include additional security checkpoint facilities, customs expansion and renovation, and a new central receiving facility for construction services.

"It seemed to me that a $60 million capital improvement needed an explanation, and we needed to verify the benefits exceeded the costs, which in this case is very clear," Councilman Bill Spelman said.

A fourth temporary security checkpoint has been installed to reduce wait times throughout the terminal.

ABIA Director of Aviation Jim Smith said the infill project will also reduce wait times.

"The reason for this particular project is basically to increase the passenger processing capability at the airport," Smith said. "Before we put that in, we were routinely, at peak times, exceeding one-hour wait time for people to go through security. Adding a fourth checkpoint and TSA's cooperation in manning that checkpoint has brought those wait times down to a manageable level."

However, the checkpoint's current location blocks 14 ticket counters that could be expanded or allow for the addition of airlines.

The infill project will also add two large security areas on the west and east sides of the airport to permanently decrease wait times for passengers throughout the security terminals.

"On the east end, we'll expand security checkpoint areas to 10 lanes, which we feel will accommodate us for the next 10 to 15 years in terms of what our growth will be," he said.

The original security plan allowed for 11 million passengers per year to travel through the airport. Smith said that with estimates of more than 10 million passengers for 2013, ABIA wants to expand before increasing numbers cause a problem for travelers through the airport.