Building the Airport

To most cities, the loss of a long-standing military base would be a hardship—at best an economic setback, at worst, a disaster. For Austin, Texas, however, the story was completely different. The 1990 decision by Congress to close Austin's Bergstrom Air Force Base created an opportunity that has allowed the Capital of Texas to meet its air travel needs well into the future and help secure its place among the leading cities of the nation.

A rapidly growing populace and an airport with nowhere to go.

In the late 1980s, the City recognized that its existing Robert Mueller Municipal Airport was quickly losing its ability to handle the dynamic growth of cargo and passengers both to and from Austin. Projections clearly pointed to the need for a larger facility. Plus, Mueller's location placed more than 30,000 people in noise impact areas.

Austin, rapidly growing as a high tech hot spot, was regularly featured in national magazines as a desirable place to live, work, and run a business. The number of flights increased substantially. Passenger counts quickly climbed. As more businesses sprang up, cargo, both imports and exports, soared. Mueller Airport burst at the seams. And the situation grew worse every day. In fact, those trends never abated, they continue to this day. But there was no room for expansion. Mueller sat landlocked on 711 acres in the middle of Austin, with urban growth on all sides. As with so many older airports, Mueller rested on the outskirts of town when new in the 1930's, but the city of Austin had long since engulfed the facility.

The situation was clear. Without a new airport, Austin's leap into the 21st Century would soon be hobbled. Several proposals were laid before the people of Austin, and a site selected in the nearby farming community of Manor. At that time, Bergstrom Air Force Base was still a fully operational military facility, and not available for consideration. But in 1990, even as planning for the Manor site continued, a new situation presented itself. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission officially gave Austin the word: After nearly 50 years of distinguished service, Bergstrom Air Force Base would be decommissioned and the land returned to the City.

Bergstrom boosters immediately began to sing its praises.

The base was only eight miles from the Capitol, large enough to meet growing needs, and runways and other facilities already existed. Plus, the surrounding area was sparsely populated, so relatively few residents and businesses would be affected by noise.

The City initiated an Airport Master Plan to study Bergstrom's feasibility as a civilian airport. The results proved the project's viability. The Austin City Council unanimously approved the proposal and passed it on to the electorate, which overwhelmingly approved it in 1993.

Austin's new airport, the first to be built under the Base Realignment and Closure Commission and the biggest new airport project since Denver, was officially off the ground. What could have been an economic blow, not to mention the on going problem of caring for an abandoned military facility, had been deftly averted. As Mayor Kirk Watson said, "Austin turned lemons into lemonade."

Funded by airport users, not Austin taxpayers.

Early in the project, City of Austin officials pledged that no tax dollars would be used to build Austin Bergstrom International Airport. Even though the City of Austin owns the facility, the project used no local property tax dollars. The entire ongoing budget is paid by the people and businesses that use the airport. And any revenue generated from the airport goes back into its operations, helping to defray its costs.

The largest construction project ever initiated by the City.

The budget for the new airport was $585 million, and the Federal Aviation Administration funded approximately one-fourth of the cost of construction.

More parking, a spacious, well-designed terminal, and better runways help ensure a convenient, yet memorable, experience. Before laying pencil to paper, Austin's airport planners scoured the nation looking for the best ideas to include in the plan. Deciding on a twin runway layout, planners utilized Bergstrom's existing 12,250 foot runway and added a second, shorter 9,000 foot runway parallel to the first. These dual runways allow aircraft to land and takeoff simultaneously, greatly enhancing efficiency and reducing passenger travel time. And the longer runway means Austin can easily handle the largest of aircraft. The longer runway also allows, for the first time ever, the possibility for non-stop overseas flights directly from Austin. As an added bonus, reusing the existing runway saved 75 percent of the cost of building a new one.

Perhaps more noticeable to the flying public is the dramatically larger passenger terminal. Dominated by granite and glass, the airy, spacious, crescent-shaped terminal allows travelers to intuitively navigate the facility. Named for the late Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to the Texas Senate and three time Congresswoman from Houston, the passenger terminal stretches approximately three city blocks and is designed to be easily expanded as the need arises. The terminal has 25 gates, compared to 16 at Mueller, but can grow to 55 gates if necessary. The four level, three story building soars to over 80 feet and encompasses approximately 600,000 square feet of floor space, more than double the size of the old airport. More than 50,000 square feet of Texas Pearl, a homegrown white granite flecked with black from nearby Marble Falls, graces the exterior.

To ease passenger pickup and drop off, minimize walking distances, and keep traffic flowing, the Barbara Jordan Terminal wisely separates arriving and departing passengers. An upper level drop off area places travelers close to the gates and ticket counters, and a lower level quickly leads passengers from the baggage claim area out to passenger pickup, mass transit and taxis.

The community insisted the passenger terminal reflect Austin.

From the concessionaires to the building materials; from the artwork to the music piped throughout the facility, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport speaks volumes about the Capital of Texas. The Central Terminal occupies nearly a city block by itself and showcases Texas-flavored shops, and restaurants. A Live Music Stage provides a space for Austin musicians to play on a regular basis. And, of course, the new airport addresses and solves the one problem everybody relates to—parking. Both surface parking (7,733 spaces) and garage parking (2,419 spaces) are available.

Another uniquely Austin concern—an environmentally friendly design.

Airports are not typically thought of as environmentally sensitive projects. But being Austin, where preserving the environment is as natural as breathing, the City insisted the airport's impact on the environment be kept to a minimum. From reusing and recycling as much existing material and infrastructure as possible, to designing facilities that minimize the depletion of natural resources, to using indigenous building materials, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is a model of environmentally friendly practices. As a result, the FAA Southwest Region awarded ABIA the 1997 Environmental Achievement award, noting that Austin had gone "above and beyond" normal environmental requirements.

Here are just a few examples:

The new design called for the elimination of 155,000 square yards (127,000 tons!) of existing concrete pavement. Rather than dig it up and dump it, concrete recycling plants were built on site and the old concrete used as the subbase for roads and the new runway. That also resulted in cost savings of more than $2 million. Of the 242 buildings left from Bergstrom (excluding base housing and various small structures), approximately 30 percent were reused, and 276 duplexes and single family homes were successfully relocated to other sites. A unique thermal storage system saves energy and reduces costs by producing and storing chilled water during the night while electrical demands and rates are lower. The chilled water then provides air conditioning for the Barbara Jordan Terminal during peak energy periods. This results in a yearly savings of $176,000, and reduces the peak load on the City's generating capacity by 1,500 to 2,000 kW.

Facilities installed at the new airport allow alternative fuels to be used in ground support aircraft. Sedimentation ponds filter the runoff from the taxi ways,runways, parking lots, and buildings, improving its quality before it ever leaves the airport.

Cargo facilities were up and running nearly two years before passenger service began.

Air Cargo activity out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is growing at an amazing rate, with Austin's hi-tech companies sending and accepting more cargo than ever before, resulting in an increase in cargo that's double the US average.

The need for improved cargo facilities was so vital that air cargo carriers started flying from the 12,250-ft runway at the new airport on June 30, 1997, two years before passenger operations began. Austin's air cargo market has been growing dramatically since 1990. In fact, Austin air cargo tonnage increased by a cumulative 89 percent from 1993 to 1998, compared with the expected annual growth of 4.5 percent. Nationally, air cargo activity expanded by 7 percent annually during this period.

According to the 1998 North American Traffic Report by the Airports Council International (ACI), Austin now has the fourth largest air cargo market in Texas.

Passenger operations started on May 23, 1999, with the opening of the Barbara Jordan Terminal. A multi-use facility, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport hosts general aviation, the State Aircraft Pooling Board, and the Texas Army National Guard.

So get ready to pack your bags, head to the airport, and discover Austin's new gateway to the world. It's sure to be an easygoing experience, just like Austin.

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