What is the most expensive airport in the American States?
According to the given findings, the most costly airport in the United States is the John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York city. The cost of construction has been estimated at more than 9,5 billion USD and this makes JFK one of the most expensive airports constructed in the United States.
Sometimes it is referred to as Idlewild Airport because that is the name it was given when it was established in 1948. The name was changed in 1963 to the new name of JFK after the death of American president John F Kennedy. The construction of the new international airport was initiated in 1943, as NYC wanted to handle more flights and international business and replace La Guardia airport, which was old.
Design and Early Construction Some of the locations considered for the construction of the new major airport include Nassau County Long Island and the coastal wetlands of Jamaica Bay. The location in Jamaica Bay was chosen to provide space for future growth activities. Since the airport is located on a border between New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was the agency responsible for design and construction of the facilities. This included numerous areas that needed to be filled in and leveled in order to accommodate the terrain for the runways, terminals, and other amenities. The early construction phase that lasted from 1944 to 1947 and cost about $60 million at that time involved only the initial development of the nuclear power plant.
Opening and Early Additions When it started early this year, the Idlewild Airport consisted of few buildings, some of which were main terminal, central heating plant and control tower. Community and early facilities cost reached a total of $74. 5 million. The airport initially included six runways of 5500–8400 feet in size upon its inception. From records for the same year, it is evident that in its first full year of operation, Idlewild handled about 35 million passengers. Additional measures to accommodate the increasing demands for flights included the establishment of new domestic terminals in the 1950s and enhancements such as instrument landing systems to provide safe operations. There were also further additions to Jamaica Bay, where more lands were filled to accommodate more patients. For this first round of improvement, $ 100 million was spent between 1948 and 1955.
Major Expansions and Renaming It was later renamed New York International Airport in 1962 and again renamed John F Kennedy International in 1963 in honor of the 35th US president. The 1960s in particular experienced the most intensive construction to help turn the airport into a modern-style international airport. Aviation development in the post-World War II period also brought changes in airport facilities, where the jet age required extended runways and larger terminal facilities to accommodate larger aircraft. The longest runway, "1131R-31L,” that measures 14,511 feet, was constructed in the late 1960s. The Worldport terminal, designed by architect I. M. Pei, was completed in 1960 with a $90 million cost and was the hub of Pan American Airlines. Thus, more than half a billion dollars was invested during the entire decade as air traffic increased step by step.
Continual Upgrades and Additions Like any other airports, JFK is an aging airport and some parts of the airport require constant maintenance and some upgrades. Since 1970s, there have been incremental changes, which include new terminal gates, roadways, cargo facilities and people movers. Another large-scale initiative was the $1. 9 billion Terminal 4 expansion that that was also accomplished in 2013 to accommodate Delta Air Lines. The airport also focused on preparing for the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet with construction of further wide taxiways and even higher gates with ceilings. A number of changes, including tighter security measures after September 11, 2001, cost $1.05 billion.
Current and Future Developments The plan of making over the JFK airport was approved by the New York Governor in 2015 and it was a $13 billion plan to be implemented in the next decade. Among the goals are to reconstruct roads, redesign old terminals, renovate parking, use vacant land for different cargo activities, and construct new hotel office, and retail spaces. Should all these parts of the plan materialize, JFK could increase its traffic up to twofold, from the current 59 million passengers to the proposed 105 million passengers by 2050. This is a testament to how Americas first major international gateway airport remains, to this day, in the forefront of providing modern amenities.
The latest statistics show that JFKA has taken over $9. 5 billion, making the project the most expensive airport project in the United States. From transforming the swamp land into the runways of the airport to the ever-existing vision for expansion, JFK has stood as the premier international gateway for New York, endeavoring to accommodate future growth in aviation while paying homage to the president it is named after. Other airports in the United States have not been developed, but JFK’s been developed through investment in infrastructure and amenities to make it one stop where tens of millions of passengers annually converge.
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