The context
Airport officials announced July 23 that the first of three 90-day construction projects will impact arrivals to terminals along International Parkway.
A detour into Terminal B and exiting Terminal A will lead to additional signage to help travelers get to their planned destinations. The Terminal B detour will be the first of three updates that will be followed by Terminal A and Terminal C detours, respectively, according to a news release.
Beginning Aug. 3, all travelers exiting Terminal A to return to International Parkway will be directed to the north exit, according to the release. People seeking a southbound exit from the terminal can take the left-hand U-turn before the North Exit Plaza to return southbound on International Parkway.
Construction will include the demolition of the existing flyover bridge into Terminal B, while a new bridge connection will be completed.
Mohamed Charkas, DFW Airport’s executive vice president of infrastructure and development, said that the construction for the bridges is underway and will lead to less time for detours.
“We want the people of North Texas, when they come to the airport, to have the least amount of disruption,” Charkas said.
He said a normal demolition and reconstruction of bridges would take about a year. With three terminals receiving updates, it will be a three-year project.
The move will switch the access to the terminals from left-hand exits to right-hand exits, said Thomas Lyon, senior vice president of airport development.
The detour will go through a former parking lot that was used for ride-share customers and airport will add extra paving on the parking lot to handle the additional traffic for Terminal B.
Also of note
Charkas said that people who normally park-and-fly at DFW Airport should add between 30 minutes and 45 minutes on top of their normal routine. According to the news release, customers are advised to arrive at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
The DFW Airport app provides live parking availability, security wait times, construction updates and the ability to prebook parking.
Arriving at Terminal B from the south entrance
Terminal B will only be accessible via the southbound entrance into the terminal from International Parkway starting Aug. 6.
Travelers arriving from the south heading northbound will be required to travel northbound past all terminal entrances and take the left-hand U-turn exit before the North Exit Plaza to return to southbound International Parkway.
Drivers can take the existing left-hand exit to Terminal B and keep left for temporary access into the terminal. Detour signs will be in place to guide traffic.
Arriving at Terminal B from the north entrance
Customers arriving from the north will continue to take the existing left-hand exit to Terminal B. Traffic will then turn left to follow a slightly different path into the terminal.
To assist with traffic flow during this time, customers entering the terminal area through the North Entry Plaza are encouraged to follow visual cues for lane designation by terminal.
What they’re saying
“We're committed to a $12 billion investment in our infrastructure,” DFW Airport CEO Chris McLaughlin said. “That infrastructure is everything from our roadways to our runways. It's everything from our energy plazas to our terminal buildings. Coming and going from this airport [might be] slightly different every single time [people] come over the next several months.”
