New Terminal B Opens at San Antonio International Airport

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio International Airport (SAIA)'s new Terminal B opened for first flight on November 9. The Clark/Byrne, A Joint Venture, project team, working in conjunction with the City of San Antonio's Capital Improvements Management Services department, Jacobs, and Parsons+Corgan, completed the $158 million scope of work, which also included consolidating the airport's baggage handling systems in an expanded building and constructing a new central utility plant. 

The 225,000 square-foot Terminal B has eight gates and four levels: arrivals, departures, mezzanine, and service. It is a concrete structure with a structural metal roof. Exterior features include curtain wall, metal wall panels, stone veneer, and a thermo-plastic roof. Inside, air travelers are welcomed by art terrazzo floors, metal ceilings, and interior glass separation walls. American Airlines and Continental Airlines share the terminal's gates. 

The Terminal B project site is located in between two other active terminals and a roadway project. Construction access was limited to just one side of the project - the secured tarmac of the airport - and the Clark/Byrne team had to install retaining walls on the other three sides. In order to get project workers from the parking lot to the job site, the team developed a site-specific airport security plan and access control procedures, approved by Transportation Security Administration, to allow secured travel through the airport operations area. 

The project team expanded SAIA's existing baggage handling facility by 13,000 square feet and installed a new baggage handling system with five screening machines, five outbound make-up units, and two curbside bag check conveyors. The expansion allowed the TSA to relocate their screening process to a centralized, fully-automated baggage screening area, freeing up space in the airport's lobby. 

The new 6,000 square-foot central utility plant houses three 1,400 ton chillers, three 4,200 gpm three-cell cooling towers, six 2,800 gpm chilled water pumps, and three tertiary 4,200 gpm chilled water pumps. The plant also houses SAIA's building automation system.