Planned airport construction will disrupt parking

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City Council on Thursday approved construction of a facility to allow travelers to book and retrieve rental cars without stepping foot on a shuttle bus. The cost: $165.6 million and no short-term parking for about 20 months.

The building will be home to 13 car rental companies, including three that are new to the airport, and a new short-term parking garage. It will be built on the site of the current short-term garage — so starting on July 15 there won’t be short-term parking until the new garage is finished.

The airport’s long-term garage allows customers to park for up to four hours at prices equal to or below the short-term rates. But customers must pay a daily rate after four hours, and it’s farther from the terminals than the short-term garage.

The new short-term garage will take about 20 months, Miller said. Construction is expected to be finished in March 2018.

To make up for the loss of spaces, the airport will open its “red” and “green” lots, which usually are used only during heavy travel times such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Shuttle buses will take travelers from those lots to the terminals.

For more about the plans for the rental car facility, go to Express-News.com or see Friday’s Business section.

rwebner@express-news.net

Twitter: @rwebner

Correction: As originally posted, this story said that the airport would not be offering hourly parking during during construction of the car rental facility. The airport will still offer hourly parking in the long-term parking garage.