Boston Logan Airport To Be Under Construction For Next 5 Years

BOSTON — "MassPort is on a mission to build a better airport." So says the government agency as it kicks off a five-year construction project at Logan Airport. That means traffic is about to go from bad to worse at the transportation hub.

How will you know what this means before you head off on vacation this summer? Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 8, watch for nightly lane restrictions from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Beyond that, the Massachusetts Port Authority announced a plan to inform folks about the upcoming construction projects. The projects will have major impacts to the traveling public, including roadway detours starting this fall. The project is not expected to be completed until 2023.

MassPort says its "Logan Forward" campaign, complete with a new website and a text alert program coming this fall to keep the public informed will help.

There will also be signage throughout the airport terminals and along the roadways. Logan served 40.9 million passengers in 2018, and has nearly 20,000 full and part-time employees.

"'Logan Forward' is our commitment to improve the passenger experience and we pledge to keep the public informed every step of the way throughout the construction process so they can appropriately plan ahead,” said incoming Massport CEO Lisa Wieland in a release. “This will be a long process.”

The nearly $2 billion capital plan at Logan Airport will include:

• Terminal B to C roadway improvements;
• A new Terminal B-C post-security connection;
• New gates and a 2,000-space parking garage at Terminal E;
• Increased sustainability efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
• Better access to and more high occupancy vehicle (HOV) transportation options.

By the end of the project, officials say they'll expand the LEX service to North Station and another suburban location; add parking spaces in Braintree and Framingham; and more buses will service Framingham.

A new centralized TNC, or App Ride, pickup/dropoff area inside Logan’s Central Garage is also under construction to give passengers a better experience and an option for discounted shared rides. The goal is to eliminate about 1.5 million empty, or "deadheading," TNC vehicles and double LEX ridership from 2 million to 4 million.

As folks may have seen, construction on a few of these projects has already begun.

The project is underway to replace the aging roadway infrastructure between B and C terminals with the aim to reduce traffic congestion, especially during peak hours. Separate roads for both terminals will ease traffic flow and increase curb space at Terminal C.

Look new roads to and from the Central Garage to separate App Ride cars from other traffic.

“We’re using this as an opportunity to prepare the entire airport for the future and it is critical that we keep the traveling public, airlines and tenants informed every step of the way," said Aviation Director Ed Freni in a statement. "Not only are our terminal facilities old and need an upgrade, but we are improving the roadway system, reducing congestion and air emissions at the airport and our neighboring communities, and building more sustainable features at our terminals.”

Terminal C, home to JetBlue, was built in 1967 and is Logan’s busiest terminal, serving more than 12 million passengers in 2018. Construction there will begin next spring. The combined projects will consolidate the security checkpoints, renovate the public spaces, and expand the food and retail concessions and passenger amenities. A new concourse connecting Terminals B and C post-security will also be completed in 2021.

The renovation at Terminal E will add nearly 400,000 square feet of space with seven new gates, three of which were approved in 1995 but never constructed. The project will include new TSA security checkpoints, an expanded ticketing hall, renovations to the existing building, new high-capacity baggage carousels, and improvements to the Customs and Border Protection area to be completed by 2023. Terminal E was built in 1974 and serves 5 million passengers annually who fly to 56 nonstop international destinations.

Look for more info at www.LoganForward.com.

Watch the new video:

Related:

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Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).