$6 billion expansion, renovation for busy Atlanta airport

In this Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015 file photo, travelers wait to go through a security checkpoint at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta. (AP)

AP, Atlanta

Officials in Atlanta are laying the groundwork for an expansion of the world’s busiest airport.

According to a news release from the Metro Atlanta Chamber, work will begin soon on a $6 billion expansion and renovation project at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Mayor Kasim Reed and other officials are to release more details of the project at an event Thursday.

Workers will update the domestic passenger terminal and concourses, and add a sixth runway and a hotel.

Work begins on concourse renovations later this year. The project accelerates next year with work on parking decks and passenger gates, and the terminal renovation.

Airport executive Frank Rucker tells the Atlanta Journal Constitution (bit.ly/1RRNLzZ) that keeping Hartsfield operating normally will be a complicated part of the project.

The airport handled 101.5 million passengers last year, more than any other in the US.