Denver International Airport unveils final phase of Great Hall renovation, lays out future projects

Construction inside Denver International Airport's Jeppesen Terminal could soon be nearing its end. And while plenty of other renovation projects at the airport are now in their early stages, airport officials say those won't have nearly the same impact as the Great Hall renovation.

DIA CEO Phil Washington unveiled plans and renderings for the final phase of the Great Hall Project on Tuesday, saying the remodeled terminal will showcase "the spirit of Colorado" and better serve passengers.

The airport says work will be completed on time and on budget in 2027, but the cost and timeline for completion have changed several times over the last few years.

The total cost of the project is now expected to be below $1.3 billion, Washington said.

"It's not like we can close a whole wing of the airport and do this work," Washington said at a news conference Tuesday. "We have to do it while we're seeing our numbers increase."

Renovations on the main terminal began in 2018 and entered phase three in 2021. In 2023, the city auditor released a report warning that the airport risked overspending on the project. The airport hired a new contractor in 2020 after terminating the previous contract.

"There will be very few customer-facing impacts when we finish the Great Hall," Washington said on Tuesday.

Among those future projects at the airport include the construction of a seventh runway, extending Concourse C West by adding 11 gates, and improvements to Peña Boulevard -- the main 11-mile road that connects Interstate 70 from the rest of the city to the airport. That's currently undergoing an environmental study from federal officials and nothing can move forward locally until that's complete, Washington said.

Earlier this month, Washington said the congestion on the road is "bad, and it's getting worse."

Since the airport opened in 1995, traffic on Peña has increased by 80%, traffic studies show. In 2023, the airport served just under 78 million passengers. That number is projected to rise to 120 million by 2045, airport officials have said. And residential and commercial development along the route has added to the congestion. Traffic times have tripled in recent years, according to a study of traffic patterns along the corridor.

Additionally, he wants to build a multi-story 17,500-vehicle rental car facility closer to the airport itself to replace the facilities off Peña Boulevard on 144 acres generally between North Gun Club Road and Jackson Gap, which Washington says will help make travel easier and decrease the airport's carbon footprint.

Plans are also in place to build more baggage carousels and expand the international arrivals area, as international travel to and from the airport increases.

Finally, Washington says the airport has 14 new train cars that will eventually replace the current train cars that move people within the airport.

"It's pure chaos when the train goes down," Washington earlier this month. "I don't like it."

Asked on Tuesday whether Washington feared potential funding cuts from the Trump administration, Washington said, "I hope not."

"The completion phase budget is mostly local funding," he said. "We are using some federal dollars on things like our baggage modernization, but our hope is a major hub in the national airspace that there's no impact on us for funding."

He went on to say he has not received any indication from the White House that the federal funding is at risk.