The first phase of the $2 billion DFW Airport renovation should open next month, offering new dining and shopping options and a more modern look.

"At the time that we open at [Terminal A,] Phase 1, there will be a bunch of new concessions, new restaurants, new stores and stuff that open along with it, and you'll be able to get a good flavor of how the new DFW will look as we renovate every terminal," said David Magaa, airport spokesman.

Geppeto's Toy Store and Vino Volo, a wine bar, are two new stores in Terminal A. Two new restaurants are The Salt Lick Bar-B-Que and Qdoba Mexican Grill.

By the end of the project in 2017, the changes will include better parking and the ability to ride the DART Orange Line from Terminal A to Dallas.

Terminal work and rail

Each terminal renovation costs about $500 million and takes about a year, Magaa said, although Phase 1 of Terminal A took a little longer.

Work on Terminals A and C is being done consecutively because American Airlines uses them for mainline jet service. The other terminals will be done concurrently.

The renovations will be primarily of infrastructure such as the heating, cooling and plumbing systems.

Also new: Starting in late 2014, passengers will be able to take the DART Orange Line from Dallas into the airport.

"The station is being built now," Magaa said. "We'll build the station and then the tracks will come in and then the train."

The airport is constructing the station, but DART will build the rails and supply the train, he said.

Flight paths

The airport did extensive runway rehab for about 45 days last year, altering flight paths and prompting complaints from Southlake residents about airplane noise.

Magaa said the work generally is done on a rolling schedule as needed and as weather permits.

"It's only on those days when we're doing a bit of rehab on a runway, and it's only if the weather prompts a change in the flight direction, so those two things have to come together," he said.

There are no current plans for major runway rehab work, Magaa said.

Parking

The parking garages at the airport also will be updated, adding spaces and integrating technology that indicates where parking is available.

The section of the garage that corresponds with the gates in Phase 1 will open as terminal renovations are complete.