Austin-Bergstrom International Airport broke ground on $344 million of utility upgrades under the Journey With AUS airport expansion program. (Ben Thompson/Community Impact)
Officials marked the start of extensive utility upgrades across Austin's airport Oct. 19, the latest major project to advance under the Journey With AUS expansion program. It's expected to be completed in 2029 after breaking ground this fall.
The big picture
The Utility Infrastructure Campus-Wide, or UICW, initiative is one of several projects moving forward in support of the Journey With AUS airport expansion. New gates, terminals, parking facilities and other additions are coming to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in response to regional growth and rising air travel demands.
Journey With AUS includes multiple new facilities and improvements across Austin's airport campus, including $344 million of utility upgrades.Courtesy Austin Aviation
Airport CEO Ghizlane Badawi said UICW will strengthen and modernize multiple utility systems that keep the airport operational including power distribution, telecommunications and water quality systems.
“This may not be a project that our customers will see when they walk through our terminal, but they are absolutely critical to everything that we’re building," she said.
Journey With AUS is among the most ambitious airport projects in the U.S., Mayor Kirk Watson said, and will improve the "huge and important economic engine" that now employs thousands of area residents, serves 20 million-plus annual passengers and supports billions of dollars in economic activity.
“A reliable airport with strong infrastructure strengthens our economic vitality, and it makes Austin more attractive to companies that want to relocate, expand and hire in our community. A reliable airport with strong infrastructure also strengthens this community’s quality of life," he said.
The cost
The fall groundbreaking came as UICW costs jumped more than 180%, from $120 million to $344 million. City Council authorized that increase Oct. 22 in response to the airport's future footprint expanding since project planning began.
UICW design work began in 2024 based on an anticipated 20 new gates through the expansion program. Last year, the airport finalized agreements with airlines for a total of 32 new gates including 26 at the future Concourse B and six at Concourse M.
Austin Aviation spokesperson Kimmie Hey said that "significant" capacity increase required revisions to Journey With AUS infrastructure and facility projects, including UICW.
"As the designs for these projects are advanced and finalized, AUS is identifying the additional funding authority required to deliver the approved program," she said.
Officials marked the groundbreaking of a campus-wide infrastructure improvement project at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in October.Ben Thompson/Community Impact
The multi-billion dollar Journey With AUS is funded by airline charges, airport cash reserves and revenue bonds, and federal grants, with no city tax dollars used. At the October groundbreaking, officials also thanked the Federal Aviation Administration for its more than $16 million commitment to UICW to date.
“This investment is making a real difference in our ability to modernize our infrastructure and prepare for the future growth,” Badawi said.
Also of note
UICW improvements include:
A new electrical system and power distribution center
New storm drainage, and water quality and detention ponds
Hydronic piping for both hot and chilled water
New information technology and telecommunications duct banks
Sundt Construction, Inc. and Archer Western Construction are contractors for the UICW initiative. Kevin Graf, Sundt senior vice president and Texas regional manager, said the project is critical given its reach across every other piece of Journey With AUS.
“It’s below-ground, they don’t see it. Many people will go through here ... and not know that it’s here," he said. "But they’d know real quick if we didn’t do this project and something went down and all of a sudden we don’t have power, we don’t have water, the airport comes to a standstill. So we understand the gravity of this project and we’re excited to get shovels in the ground.”
The UICW groundbreaking came days after the airport experienced a partial power outage, later attributed to a contractor accidentally striking an electrical line. Airport Development Officer Rustin Roussel said reliability improvements from the UICW could help avoid similar future outages.
"We have a lot more redundancy now in our systems, and we’re going to bring redundancy in our electrical systems to all our buildings—something we don’t necessarily have today," he told members of the Airport Advisory Commission Oct. 14.
