Massive renovation of DFW Airport begins with parking garage closures

Photo courtesy of DFW Airport

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has begun a renovation that marks the airport's biggest investment since it first opened in 1974. The plan, called DFW Forward, will invest $9 billion in capital improvements that a release says will transform terminals, increase the number of gates, enhance the airfield, and improve roadways.

Highlights include rebuilding Terminal C; more gates for Terminal A and C; and a rebuilding of Terminal C's parking garage.

UPDATE 1/15/2025: Demolition of the parking garage at Terminal C has begun.
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As part of that parking garage rebuilding, the entrance to the Terminal C south parking garage, adjacent to Gates C26 to C39, is scheduled to close September 14 — to prepare for demolition and reconstruction of a new, larger garage. The closure will be followed by a 30-day period for parked vehicles to exit the garage. Terminal C’s north and central parking garages will remain open.

The Express South parking lot has also closed.

Rebuilding Terminal C
This $3 billion project will transform the airport’s busiest and most outdated terminal by removing more than 400 view-blocking columns, installing glass windows, and raising the roof. Woot woot.

There'll be new shops and restaurants, lounge space, check-in areas, security checkpoints, and improved restrooms.

On the topic of restrooms, one hopes the improved restrooms will include an increase in the number of women's restrooms. DFW Airport is woefully behind the times in its allotment of women's restrooms. A typical gateside women's restroom at DFW Airport has four stalls — a sign if there ever were one that DFW Airport's design team is staffed by men.

More gates at A and C
Taking place concurrently with the first phase of Terminal C’s reconstruction will be double-loaded pier expansions of both Terminal C and Terminal A, with four more gates for Terminal C; and five gates for Terminal A.

They'll also add restaurant and retail, seating areas, and restrooms. One hopes that means an increase in the number of women's restrooms. Have you ever noticed at DFW Airport that there is almost always a line for the women's restsrooms but never a line for the men's restrooms? It's always a hot topic in the line for the women's restrooms.

The remainder of the Terminal C concourse will be demolished and rebuilt in two additional phases. This will allow the terminal to continue flights in other areas of the facility. The project will be done in several phases over time, with a completion date forecast for 2030.

Parking garage
In coordination with Terminal C’s first construction phase, the adjacent south parking garage will be completely rebuilt. They'll add more parking plus modern parking management technologies. The entrance to the Terminal C south garage is scheduled to close September 14; Terminal C's north and central parking garages will remain open. Customers are encouraged to book parking online ahead of travel to ensure the best rates and check live availability of parking garages and lots before or upon arrival.

Introducing: The people who design the restrooms
The design-build team for the Terminal C project’s first phase and expansion, as well as the Terminal A expansion, is a joint venture comprised of Austin Commercial, Azteca Enterprises, and Alpha & Omega, with HOK and Muller & Muller, Ltd. as design team members. One hopes they'll be increasing the ratio of restrooms designated for women.

DART rail
One project not in the works that would enhance the airport experience is increased access to public transportation. Right now, there is DART rail service to DFW, but the only terminal that DART stops at is Terminal A. You're then expected to trundle out to DFW's inefficient People Mover system if you need to get to another gate. What a blessing it would be if DFW Airport and DART Rail could unite to create more stops at DFW Aiport on DART's airport line.

Other projects
Other large projects underway include:

DFW’s sixth Terminal F that will include 15 gates
a Skylink station
The International Parkway Modernization project which will reposition exits to Terminals A, B, and C to be on the right side and not the left
East West Connector Roadway: A new east-west throughfare on the southside of the airport to connect Rental Car Drive to State Highway 360
Southwest End-Around Taxiway Project: DFW’s third end-around taxiway is currently under a multi-phase construction program to enhance the safety and efficiency of aircraft movements
19th Street Cargo Redevelopment: Seven new positions — designed for some of the world’s largest aircraft — to double cargo aircraft capacity. Cargo is a big profit center.

In a statement, DFW CEO Sean Donohue says that "a new era is now beginning at DFW."

"As we grow closer to serving 100 million passengers each year, it’s time for DFW to enhance our remaining legacy terminal and imagine brand new ones," Donohue says.

traffic closings transportation

News for campers

New 650-acre state park coming to Lake Palestine in East Texas

Photo courtesy of TexasLand

Lake Palestine

East Texas is gaining a new state park at Lake Palestine that will include amenities like hike-and-bike trails, campsites, and lakefront access.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation has paid more than $10 million for a 650-acre ranch at Lake Palestine that will be converted into a state park, the agency says. If the park opened today, it would be the 90th state park in Texas.

The ranch, roughly 100 miles southeast of Dallas, had been on the market for a little less than $10 million. Roughly 60 percent of the ranch is wooded, and about 40 percent is pastureland.

The foundation will make improvements to the site, about 18 miles west of Tyler, before handing it over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in late 2027. That’s when funding from the Centennial Parks Conservation Fund will become available for the department to acquire the property.

The deal preserves one of the last large habitat sites in that part of East Texas and will ultimately expand public access to Lake Palestine. The lake encompasses more than 25,500 acres and touches four counties. White-tailed deer, bobcats, and waterfowl are among the creatures that populate the habitat.

“Opportunities to protect a property like this don’t come along very often, and when they do, timing is critical,” Anne Brown, the foundation’s executive director, said in a release. She said the land will “ultimately become a place where generations of Texans can enjoy the outdoors.”

The Pollard family had owned the ranch, which housed their pecan farm, since 1940. Aside from the pecan orchard, the property includes pine forests, ponds, a seven-acre lake, and Lake Palestine frontage.

Sam Pollard, president of Texas Pecan Nursery, said the property “is part of my soul. It means a lot to me that we can leave a legacy for people to enjoy.”

The foundation says visitors to the future park will be able to enjoy blufftop views of the lake, watch wildlife and birds, and walk around the pecan orchard. They’ll also be able to take advantage of boating, paddling, swimming, and fishing at Lake Palestine.

Rodney Franklin, director of the state park system, called the site an “East Texas gem” and thanked the Pollards for enabling “this special slice of the Pineywoods to be accessible for generations of Texans.”

The parks and wildlife agency plans to create the park in phases, starting with guided access, followed by daytime access and then full-day and overnight access. The agency will invite public input about the park’s development.

Planned amenities include hike-and-bike trails, traditional and primitive campsites, day-use areas and lakefront access.

The NextEra Energy Foundation, a philanthropic arm of NextEra Energy and NextEra Energy Resources, chipped in $100,000 to support the future park. NextEra supplies electricity to about one million customers in Texas, mostly through its Gexa Energy subsidiary.

In addition, the wildlife foundation tapped into the state’s Land Conservation Loan Fund for the ranch purchase. The voter-approved, donor-supported fund aids land conservation efforts. Dallas-based Lyda Hill Philanthropies was an inaugural backer of the loan fund.

lake palestine parks state park texas

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New 650-acre state park coming to Lake Palestine in East Texas