By Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis – The latest renovation at Lambert Airport will leave just two of the airport's four concourses open to the public in the main terminal.
The $50 million face lift is the largest since Lambert's main terminal opened in 1956. The security checkpoints and ticket counters will be reconfigured, and the concourses will have new lighting, flooring and signage. All the restrooms will also be updated.
The biggest change, though, is the planned closure of the B and D concourses. Airlines that used those gates would fly from the C concourse. The A concourse and the East terminal, which serves Southwest Airlines, would remain open as well.
"If we consolidate those and have three very vibrant concourses, that sends a much better message to our customers and sends a message that we have room to grow," said airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge.
The project is the second of two upgrades to the experience at Lambert. The first phase of $20 million reconfigured the baggage claim, and cleaned and lit the dome ceiling in the main terminal. The airport is in the process of installing new signage.
The ongoing rehabilitation, Hamm-Niebruegge said, is vital to Lambert's ability to bring back some of the airline traffic it's lost in the past decade.
"There are so many new terminals being built across the country, or very, very aggressive rehabs. You have to have a product that is appeasing. That's been a long-standing concern with the airline about the condition of this airport and the community as well," she said.
Construction on the latest upgrade is scheduled to start in late summer or early fall, and be completed by fall 2010