Construction of the new Kansas City International (KCI) Airport Single Terminal is well underway.

At just over one million square feet, the KCI new terminal project is the largest single infrastructure project in the city’s history. It will have a profound and lasting economic impact on the region in the form of new jobs, opportunities for local and small businesses, and a first-class traveler experience for airport users.

Completion is estimated in 2023, with 39 gates and the ability to expand to 50 in the future, the project will also include a 6,300-space parking structure along landside and airside improvements.

The new terminal will support more efficient airline operations and allow airport users to enjoy the convenience of modern air travel in a facility with updated technology and amenities, close parking, spacious gate areas, and ample food and beverage options.

Currently, construction crews are piecing together perhaps the most towering portion of the $1.5 billion project. As of September 24, structural steel progress continued in the head house. The tenth of 25 massive y-columns has been placed while more than 3,400 pieces of steel and 330,500 square feet of metal deck have been installed throughout the concourse structure.

The columns support 115-foot-long, 82,000-pound box beams, structuring a roof that will hang over the first two roadway lanes of the upper departure area, shielding passengers from inclement weather.

Building the head house is a complex operation. Crews must sequence construction by completing portions of the elevated roadway so cranes can more easily position the corresponding "Y" columns and beams for those sections.

The head house work represents a positive, visible step for KCI's new terminal, which is on budget and on schedule to open in early 2023.

Read more at the BuildKCI.com and the Kansas City Business Journal.