Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has secured $17.5 million from the federal government to help fund the reconstruction of the South Concourse.
The money will go toward structural, seismic and building system upgrades, part of a $24.5 million grant package for airports across Washington.
“This funding will make major updates to the 1970’s era facility, enhancing the passenger experience for international travelers,” U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell said in a news release.
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The reconstruction project will remodel the area, commonly referred to as the S Gates, with new retailers, restaurants and lounges. The airport in 2022 completed construction of a glitzy white aerial walkway and expects all renovations to the concourse to be finished by 2031.
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The $17.5 million in funds to improve the S Concourse come from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which allocated $1 billion to the Federal Aviation Administration every year for grants aimed at improving airport terminal projects.
Sea-Tac has received tens of millions of dollars in funding from the bill since it was rolled out in 2022. That year, the airport received $10 million to update bathrooms to be federally compliant, build refillable water bottle stations and construct a “relief station” for service animals.
In the past two years, the airport has used FAA funds for upgrades like moving a TSA checkpoint to increase its capacity and widening the arrivals road by two lanes. The airport will likely receive another multimillion-dollar infusion from the FAA next year, too, the final year of the funding.
Right now, the airport is in the process of a $5 billion renovation to its infrastructure. Among the upgrades are expansion to C Concourse expansion, improvements to the main terminal and optimization of the baggage screening and equipment operations.
“As the Port of Seattle invests $5 billion in SEA alone over this five-year period in airport infrastructure, these federal funds are an essential part of successfully upgrading our facilities to better accommodate passenger demand,” Sea-Tac Chief Operating Officer Arif Ghouse said in a statement.