An $800 million effort to expand and renovate the Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) has received some wind under its wings after the Dallas City Council approved it in August. The design phase for the Love Field Expansion Airport Program (LEAP) has moved into the design phase, with construction slated to begin in 2027.
As the Dallas-area population skyrockets, the demands for reliable air transit have placed a significant burden on DAL’s existing conditions and capacity. The airport was originally planned to accommodate six million boarding passengers per year. It currently handles approximately 10 million per year, with projections placing that number to swell to 12 million over the next 15 years.
LEAP provides the blueprint needed to adequately expand DAL’s offerings to deliver the infrastructure, services and maintenance needed to handle double the passengers it was originally slated to enplane. The capital plan has been in development over the past two years alongside the airport’s larger 2025 Master Plan: Love What’s Next. Now approved, the airport has a set timeline to complete 14 critical development projects over the next six years.
The following are a few of the key focus areas for the capital plan:
- Expanding the concourse.
- Building a terminal headhouse.
- Expanding parking facilities.
- Building access roadways.
- Constructing support facilities.
The airport’s holistic vision will prioritize incorporating cutting-edge innovations and technologies into as much of the existing and new infrastructure as achievable, with plans to advance major developments over the next two decades. The plan hinges on maintaining long-term stability while ensuring all infrastructure and resources are optimized for operations, finances and environmental friendliness.
Among the notable projects featured in LEAP, DAL will move forward with efforts to expand the terminal by 50 feet and replace a current cargo facility with a new parking garage. Additional capital projects include:
- Building a bridge between the Concourse and the airfield.
- Creating a Security Identification Display Area.
- Establishing new passenger screening spaces.
- Creating a two-lane curb with three-lane bypass.
- Creating a commercial vehicle drop off point with a two-lane bypass.
- Expanding the Central Utility Plant.
- Building an inbound/outbound baggage handling system.
- Establishing a baggage claim area.
Photo by LoneStarMike, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, from Wikimedia Commons
