Jim Fair
'I know what (GSP) is going to look like at the end and I am already excited."
Jim Scroggins
Project Manager, Michael Baker International
Jim Fair
The new ticket counters at GSP will be in service soon.
Jim Fair
The conveyer belt is tested with bags of different sizes and weights to replicate passengers' baggage.
The Grand Hall will be the centerpiece for passengers and the public to enjoy scenic views, restaurants and spending time with friends and family.
That’s when the $125 million, four-year Terminal Improvement Project – WINGSPAN – is showcased to the Upstate and travelers with a glitzy, state-of-the-art, traveler-friendly airport.
It will be as trendy as having dinner, taking a walk in the airfield garden and watching the planes land and takeoff under a moonlit sky.
“We are essentially delivering to our community a brand new airport and we’re going to deliver it to them without a bill,” said Rosalyn Weston, spokesperson for GSP. “The project is 80 percent funded by the airport.” The other 20 percent will be by Airport Improvement grant and the Transportation Security Administration for its equipment.
Jim Scroggins, project manager with Michael Baker International has overseen the project the past two years and in its final phase. He took media on a tour Thursday of the facilities, winding to its final six months that showed the infrastructure in place, shells where restaurants and vendors will be located and bowels of the terminal that will serve as the operational nerve center.
“The first floor ticket counters are nearly finished, we are testing the baggage conveyer belt and baggage claim and checkpoints,” Scroggins said. “There is still a lot of overhead construction to do and the airside garden, with a large and smaller pond, has work to be done. But all the facilities are brand new.”
The Grand Hall, as GSP calls its first floor common area, will open in the summer and represent a grandiose setting for passengers and the public. “This is the area where the public will come and enjoy the facilities,” Scroggins said. “Almost no expense has been spared on this project.”
Scroggins said some major construction continues. “We’re trying to wrap up a lot of the finished trades, we still have a lot going on,” Scroggins said.
“We have dry walls being finished, doors and ceiling tiles being hung, and bathroom fixtures being installed. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. So we’re very opportunistic,” Scroggins said.
“So far it’s all been very challenging to say the least, but it’s been real smooth, Scroggins said.
Since the original $102 million proposed budget before construction, it has been increased several times along the way for contingencies.
Workers discovered older abandoned pipes, harder rock that needed dynamite to break up and move and asbestos had to be removed.
Aesthetics in the Grand Hall will include a wall with cascading water and pieces of nationally commissioned art. “We have some great artists coming into the airport,” Weston said. “We will have a mini gallery we think the public will be happy with and please with what we are doing.”
A big plus airport officials are pleased with is one checkpoint for all passengers instead of separate ones on Concourse A and Concourse B. “It’s more efficient for passenger flow and TSA,” Weston said. “
Scroggins said the bottom line to him was “the airport has stayed operational year round. I am excited seeing this all come together,” he said. “I know what it’s going to look like at the end and I am already excited.”
“Go back and look on website,” said Weston. “When you walk through the video we put up when we first started and look at the images, then look at some of the areas as they have come on line, they are spot on.”