$92M project ready for takeoff
Upgrades coming to Albany Airport and approach from Northway exit
Albany International Airport is getting a $92 million makeover that will upgrade the terminal, increase parking and reshape the way drivers arrive.
State officials on Tuesday announced that $72 million in state grants is slated to assist with the multimillion-dollar project, with an additional $18.25 million coming from the Albany County Airport Authority and $1.8 million in federal funding.
Improvements will include modernization of the airport terminal, construction of a new parking garage and upgrades to the existing garage that will offer another 1,000 spaces, and the long-talked about reconfiguration of Exit 4 of the Northway.
“It’s really going to give a shock to the economy that we haven’t seen for a while,” Albany County Executive Daniel Mccoy said. “It’s really going to enhance the traveler’s experience and make them want to come back here.”
Work on the terminal is scheduled to begin next
month with all the improvements slated for completion by November 2020.
Albany will receive a $22.1 million state grant for the terminal and garage upgrades from the $190 million Upstate Airport Economic Development Revitalization Competition, which has provided grants to four upstate airports for major capital projects.
It’s been 20 years since any major renovation at the airport on Albany Shaker Road, the last being a new terminal, concourses and a fivelevel parking garage. The increasing number of boardings each year has stretched indoor parking thin during peak travel periods.
“With government funding it will allow us to make improvements that we will not have been able to do on our own,” airport CEO John O’donnell said.
The proposed $27 million parking garage will be built along the entry road to the terminal. A pedestrian bridge will connect the garage to the terminal, while a roadway through the garage will provide access to the private Million Air facility that serves corporate, charter and private aircraft.
The new parking garage will be ticketless, allowing patrons to register their license plate number and a form of payment for quick and easy entry, O’donnell said.
The technology will also direct drivers to available parking in the garage as well as help people locate their cars, he said.
Changes to Exit 4 also will improve travelers’ experiences coming to the airport, making it easily navigable for those outside the Capital Region.
The current exit from the Northway puts drivers onto old Wolf Road, and they must take a left turn past various businesses, leaving drivers wondering exactly where the airport is.
Only when they turn right onto Albany Shaker Road does the airport become visible.
“You have to change your mindset to not being a Capital Region resident,” O’donnell said.
The changes to Exit 4 will add a northbound exit ramp over the Northway that will feed traffic onto the westbound lanes of Albany Shaker, providing a more direct route to the airport.
The plan will also enable reconstruction of the Exit 4 interchange and the Exit 5 southbound on-ramp. The northbound Exit 4 entrance ramp will extend as a fourth lane to the Exit 5 northbound exit ramp to give drivers more distance to merge. A soundwall will also be built along the northbound ramp.the state has $50 million slated for these changes through Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s $100 billion Infrastructure Renewal Plan.
While the multimillion-dollar project will improve a visitor’s experience to the Albany County airport, officials said it should also spark more development and interest in the region.
“It has a stimulating factor when you start a new project in the airport,” O’donnell said, noting the authority is working with more airlines and destinations and current tenants are looking to grow.
Cuomo was scheduled to make the announcement Tuesday, but Empire State Development CEO Howard Zemsky stood in for the governor at the private Million Air facility next to the main terminal.
Cuomo instead went to the scene of flooding in the Southern Tier and central New York.
“Accessible, modern airports can help spur regional economic development and growth, and these investments in Albany International Airport will pay dividends for decades to come,” Zemsky said in a news release.