Des Moines International Airport is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar effort to reconstruct and expand its facilities to address issues brought on by Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as well as to better serve the growing number of passengers making their way through the terminal.

“There is construction going on every year, but this is one of the busiest construction seasons we’ve seen,” said Deputy Aviation Director Craig Smith. “We have so many different projects, and so many smaller ones that interact with those.” The airport’s current and planned projects carry a total price tag of more than $60 million.

Travelers are being exposed to similar efforts throughout the country. According to a study released last month by the Airports Council International-North America, capital development costs at U.S. airports will average $14.3 billion a year through 2009 as they are faced with record numbers of travelers.

At Des Moines International, enplanements have increased by approximately 114,000 over the past two years. The increase has resulted in an additional $972,420 in passenger facility charges – $8.53 from each ticket earmarked for project development – which will fund projects ranging from an expansion of the security screening area to upgrades of the passenger loading bridges. Food vendor GladCo Enterprises and gift vendor The Paradies Shops have proposed a $2 million expansion to better serve the increased number of passengers.

Airport spokesman Roy Criss said the enplanement increase makes Des Moines International more competitive for Federal Aviation Administration grants, which will fund other construction efforts over the next several years.

Most noticeable to passengers is a $3.9 million, 18,000-square-foot expansion of the airport’s security screening area, a project funded through passenger facility charges. The added space will allow for four passenger screening lanes, compared with the two that are currently in operation, as well as additional restrooms, escalators and tenant space for the Transportation Security Administration, which took over security operations following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Though travelers through Des Moines International face, on average, fairly short wait times at the security checkpoint, the airport and the TSA have also dealt with complaints from passengers who have waited up to an hour during peak travel times.

“We’ve had two lanes, and up until (the TSA took over security operations) it served us fairly well,” Smith said. “We had minimal delays. But with new procedures, we had significant wait times and it was very frustrating for the passengers.”

Jay Brainard, the TSA’s federal security director at Des Moines International, said that, considering passenger volume, wait times have been “very good” at the airport, and praised the continued performance improvements by TSA screeners. The airport’s average wait time is 2.7 minutes and 12.3 minutes at peak times of the day. But he still sees room for improvement.

“It’s an opportunity for us to relieve some congestion that comes through the terminal,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a really good customer piece for this airport.”

But Brainard cautions that extra security lanes don’t automatically equate to shorter wait times for passengers. The challenge, he said, will lie in the hands of the TSA as it works to add security screeners and adequately staff those extra lanes during peak travel times. The TSA office in Des Moines is “in the pipeline” to receive additional hiring support.

“You want to see the third if not the fourth lane staffed during peak times,” he added.

The TSA has said it will provide the additional equipment needed to make each lane fully operational. Construction is currently ahead of its scheduled November completion date.

Until then, Smith said, passengers will experience some minor inconveniences, but not an increase in wait times. Seating for visitors who greet inbound passengers has been moved to the first floor from the second floor, and the two existing escalators will be shut down as they are replaced. Two additional escalators will also be installed to prevent backups in the security staging area that have created a problem for airport workers and travelers in recent years.

Des Moines International has hired a consultant to identify bottlenecks in its luggage screening process and to evaluate different operational concepts and solutions. In the fallout of the Sept. 11 attacks, the federal government required airports to screen all checked baggage through CTX 5500 machines. Des Moines International operates two, one located in a luggage holding area, the other in the airport lobby. Smith hopes that moving the machine out of the lobby will create a more seamless operation for the airlines and passengers.

“Our goal is to get that thing out of the ticketing lobby and restore some semblance of order,” he said. “(The airlines) are going to have to operate a little differently than they are today, but the end result will be better customer service and better security.”

The airport is also in the process of investing more than $2 million in passenger facility charges to upgrade its passenger loading bridges to better accommodate airlines’ operational changes.

“Especially since 9/11, many airlines have downsized to the regional jets, which are much lower to the ground,” Smith said. “Our jet bridges were really set up for larger aircraft. So with the advent of the regional jet and its popularity, we’ve had to make some modifications.”

Two bridges were replaced and the 10 others are being upgraded to meet slope requirements and to include a modified cab with automatic leveling that would better accommodate regional jets. The project has been phased over the past year, which has required the airlines to be temporarily reassigned to other passenger loading bridges.

Outside the terminal, Des Moines International is in the middle of two runway projects expected to continue for the next four or more years. The airport is continuing work on a phased $12 million rehabilitation project, paid for through federal funding, to address issues related to wear and tear on runway 13/31. The runway recently reopened to daytime traffic, but will remain closed from 11:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. as work continues through October.

Additionally, the airport is continuing land acquisition for runway 13R/31L, a 5,500-foot runway that will eventually be extended to 9,000 feet in order to accommodate all commercial aircraft. Smith said the project, including land acquisition and runway construction, is estimated to cost between $42 million and $45 million and will be paid for through federal funds. Construction is expected to begin in fiscal 2007 and continue through fiscal 2009.