Shaping CLT’s Curbside Canopy

As the dust finally settles on the newly finished Terminal Lobby Expansion (TLE), one of the most challenging parts was building the 146,000-square-foot steel and glass canopy, which had to be constructed over the busy upper roadway. The CLT Executive Leadership Team was clear in its directive to the architects and engineers: this is an airport first and a construction site second, so minimize disruptions.

“A lot of projects are like expanding a living room or adding something on your back deck – it’s something you can live with,” explained architect Ben Goebel, the TLE project executive with Gresham Smith. “The terminal lobby project was like simultaneously remodeling your living room, bedroom and bathroom. It was not something you could escape daily … so you have to work around those parameters, and we did the best we could.”

The Overnight Shift

Most of the canopy work was done between September 2022 and June 2023 during the middle of the night.

The 63 twelve-foot-tall trusses fabricated offsite by Charlotte-based SteelFab, Inc. (over 18 months) were brought in at 2 a.m. Sections were hoisted with cranes (the heaviest weighing over 47,000 pounds), then bolted and welded into place before the roadway reopened at 5 a.m.

The Airport project was so large (combined with COVID-related supply chain issues) that it led to a local steel shortage. The overnight work also meant traffic into the terminal had to be rerouted while lanes were closed.

“The most significant challenges came when there was an outside factor that exacerbated the impact caused by construction,” said Jerome Woodard, CLT Chief Operations Officer. “Think a vehicle accident on the roadway, or what was more common, was inclement weather that either delayed, canceled or directly impacted the construction team’s ability to complete the nightly work. These situations caused operations to proactively coordinate nightly ‘go or no go’ decisions to close the roadway to facilitate the construction.”

Design Reflects Charlotte Region

The swooping canopy—with a free span of nearly 160 feet—also contains 2,462 panes of glass. It’s designed to symbolically extend Queen Charlotte’s Coronation Cape and guide the eye through the glass windows back to her statue in the lobby.

Once inside the terminal, travelers will notice design elements and color choices that reflect:

• Textiles (such as blue gingham patterns over the entrance and exit portals).
• Sports community (various shades of blue).
• Banking and mining (gold accents that nod to Charlotte’s financial and gold rush history).
• Aerodynamics and racing (ribbon walls and wayfinding).
• Agricultural landscape of the Piedmont (the ceiling pattern mimics rows of crops).

Passengers React

Predictably, the transformational Terminal Lobby Expansion—which took nearly ten years and cost $608 million—both amazed and frustrated travelers who patiently dealt with the construction and dust necessary to create “An Airport Fit For A Queen.”

“Charlotte is definitely a large city, so I feel like our airport now kind of matches that expectation,” said Charlottean Brittany Alston, who flew into CLT from Miami.

“It’s much more spacious and makes Charlotte look really good,” added passenger Amy Neaves, who arrived from Paris and is headed home to Hickory. “I remember when this was all boarded up, and you came down to ground transport or to get baggage, and it looked like a war zone for a good while. And I know it took a long time, but is it worth it? Yes, absolutely!”

“It’s a massive improvement over when construction was underway, but it feels like everything is moving really smoothly,” said fellow traveler Daniel Moore. “Going through Customs was quick and easy. It feels more spacious out front, too; there’s better flow all around.”

Moving Forward

In addition to the canopy, the TLE project relocated the Queen Charlotte statue indoors, expanded the ticketing area, added larger checkpoints and automated exit lanes, more baggage carousels, built subterranean walkways, widened the roadways and added extra concessions and art installations.

“I hope our local customers are happy with the final product and proud of the airport,” said Jack Christine, CLT Chief Infrastructure and Development Officer. “The different upgrades we have made from a technology perspective, and a space standpoint, make their journey easier and more efficient, and make the travel experience less challenging. And yes, it’s not always going to be perfect, but if we had the lobby that we had back in 2019, it would be miserable and not fun at all.”

Now that the TLE has wrapped up, renovations continue in Concourses D and E, and new projects are already on the horizon, including a new Fourth Parallel Runway scheduled to open in Fall 2027.