I thought I knew where I was going. I really did. But, as I continued my conversation with the person I was sitting next to on my flight from Atlanta to Pittsburgh (to see Bruce Springsteen, BTW), I realized after looking up on my walk that I was in no man’s land. There were signs, and more signs.

“Go this way.” “No, wait, go that way.” “Okay, stop.”

The conversations I was having in my head were more dizzying.

“Oh, that’s right. You said you hadn’t been here since last summer, so, you can see lots has changed,” my newfound friend said, as I stopped to try and set my bearings. “There is a little construction going on right now.”

“A little,” I said to myself, and then again, out loud. “Where the hell am I?”

The Pittsburgh International Airport was looking to the future. With its eyes set on creating a more modernized and adaptable airport terminal, it had little care about my navigation inadequacies. It was adding more updated technology. More user-friendly passenger experiences (mine, at the moment, non withstanding). Better parking and rental facilities. Surface access. Site, airfield and infrastructure design. If you could think of it, airport officials—and the teams behind the massive renovation—are one step ahead of you.

When it opens in 2025, the new terminal is expected to cut the time for passengers from their cars to their planes in half.

As I mentioned, I was arriving from Atlanta, where, after several years of renovations, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport airport is in the midst of a $1.4 billion widening initiative of Concourse D (its oldest concourse); the expansion of its Plane Train automated people mover (APM) system, which is set to improve passenger travel between the airport’s terminals and concourses; and its main security checkpoint expansion, which will include extending queuing and automated screening lanes. To note, these are part of what is a number of initiatives planned in the coming years.

There continues to be much renovation and upgrades to our country’s airport facilities over the past few years—a sign of much needed momentum for the commercial construction market.

There continues to be much renovation and upgrades to our country’s airport facilities over the past few years—a sign of much needed momentum for the commercial construction market.

Take Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which recently started its $3 billion renovation of Terminal C. The work will modernize and expand the building, adding more gates and passenger amenities. This is in addition to adding its sixth terminal, Terminal F, which will include 15 gates and a new Skylink station. The overall project is part of, DFW Forward, the airport’s nearly $9 billion improvement plan and the biggest it has undertaken since 1974.

Other upgrades across the country include the $1.4 billion improves to roadway capacity, baggage handling, etc., at George Bush International Airport (IAH); the $405 million south ramp expansion at Charlotte Douglas International (CLT); the $61.9 million gate addition and renovation at Orlando International Airport (MCO); and the $27.8 million airport infrastructure expansion, including terminals and enhancing travelers’ experiences, at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).

And the list, as they say, goes on…

In case you are wondering (there may be a few of you out there), my brother, sister-in-law and cousin all made it to the Springsteen show—all three hours-plus of it. Because, you know, it’s Springsteen.

Photo by Bill Raymond/Shutterstock.com