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Tiny miracle: Airport terminal ready 6 mos. early, under budget

 

Alright, it's not a huge project like Berlin's 6-year-late and billions-over-budget new airport, but it is a genuine new airport terminal, ready to open 6 months early and with $3 million left over to go back into the public till. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Iowa's Dubuque Regional Airport's new terminal.

The terminal replaces a 1948 building renovated in 1988 which had long caused problems. Built in an era when 'pre-security' and 'post-security' areas were not even a dream? nightmare? the old terminal had room for only 50 people in the post-security area.

That's meant that even for a regional jet such as those operated there by American Eagle, not all the passengers could be scanned until others were on the plane. In the new building, there's room for 175.

The new terminal is three times larger, and Dubuque hopes it will attract more airline service than the three flights a day it serves now, in addition to private and corporate planes. The new building also includes concession space and a sit-down restaurant, although (perhaps because it was ready so soon) no operator has been signed up yet.

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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