By John Murray | The Denver Post
The construction company picking up the ball from the fired contractors on Denver International Airport’s terminal renovation project is set to be paid up to $195 million to reboot the project.
A Denver City Council committee advanced the deal with Hensel Phelps, the new lead construction contractor, on Wednesday afternoon. If approved by the full council later this month, Hensel Phelps would restart construction in March within the walled-off sections of the terminal’s midsection, tackling the unfinished portions of the project’s first phase.
That phase includes finishing an expansion of the upper-level balconies over the atrium and construction of new airline check-in pods, bathrooms and escalators. Later phases, still being retooled, will include construction of new security check-in areas on the north ends of DIA’s upper level to replace the current main-floor checkpoints.
The upshot for travelers is that the construction walls and detours that have made navigating the airport so difficult since 2018 will stick around much longer. The end of the first phase, which is expected to affect travelers the most, at least has an end date, though: Hensel Phelps’ contract gives it until the end of 2021 to substantially finish the work.
