Sea-Tac International Arrivals Facility Team Marks Completion of Steel Structure with Topping Out Ceremony

SEATTLE - Clark’s team delivering the new International Arrivals Facility (IAF) at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport took another important step forward in the delivery of the project Tuesday, setting the last steel beam in place on the IAF main structure.

Members of the IAF project team joined Port Commissioners and representatives from the Port of Seattle, airline stakeholders, and local labor leaders to commemorate the milestone with a Topping Out celebration.

Brian Ahern, Clark’s Project Director in charge of construction, delivered remarks during the ceremony, and took the opportunity to recognize the hundreds of men and women who have been hard at work for their commitment to maintaining a safe and productive work project. “On Clark jobsites, the measure of true success is when no one gets hurt and everyone goes home safely to their families at the end of each day. I want to thank the men and women who are working on site for their continued commitment to moving the schedule forward expeditiously and for doing so with safety and quality at the forefront of every operation.” 

Sea-Tac is among the top 10 busiest airports in the country and demand for air travel to the region is on the rise. More than 46 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2017, a 41 percent increase since 2012. When complete, the International Arrivals Facility will expand Sea-Tac’s capacity to serve the growing needs of the traveling public and enhance the international passenger experience.

“We are on our way to creating a significantly better experience for our arriving international passengers here at Sea-Tac and providing a much more welcoming facility reflective of our region’s quality,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Courtney Gregoire. “We appreciate the effort from all of our partners to come together and get this done for the benefit of passengers. This is another step in making it all a reality soon.”

The International Arrivals Facility is the most complex capital development program in the airport’s history and includes the primary IAF facility for baggage claim and customer processing, a new security corridor that will allow dual use of gates on Concourse A for incoming international and domestic flights, as well as an iconic 85-foot-tall aerial pedestrian bridge that will connect passengers from the South Satellite facility.

Earlier this fall, Clark, working in close collaboration with the Port of Seattle, finalized a GMP for the project. With the topping out of the main structure accomplished, they will shift gears to tackle their next big endeavor: fabrication and erection of the pedestrian aerial walkway.