On foot and by car, Steven Hennigan recently offered a closer look at the construction frenzy at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in the Gulf Coast city of Fort Myers.
As the executive director and CEO of the Lee County Port Authority (LCPA), which owns and operates the airport, he keeps close tabs on its construction. However, that is not an easy feat as both phases of a major expansion is currently underway — each with its own general contractor in charge.
"There is just a lot of stuff going on at one time," he said.
So much has happened at the facility since March, when the port authority ceremoniously celebrated the start of the second phase of work — a $1.1 billion project that will add a new 14-gate Concourse E to the facility.
The effort is Lee County's largest ever public works project, the Fort Myers News-Press and the Naples Daily News jointly reported Oct. 28.
What started as mounds of raw dirt is now an impressive steel and concrete structure.
During Hennigan's hour-long tour, hundreds of workers could be seen working on all levels of the towering three-level structure. The percussion of construction sounds filled the air, from the whir of drills to the crack of nail guns.
Now, the concourse is just a skeletal structure, but within a few months, the work will begin to button it up, Hennigan said. He hinted that its topping off — a placement of the last piece of steel — may happen as soon as December.
"The walls and glass to make it watertight will start in the next few months and should wrap up in late June 2026," he said.
Another big part of the project that will soon begin is the roadwork construction for the new concourse.
Currently, the site work includes laying pipes for underground drainage and moving more dirt to prepare the surface for asphalt.
The project is approximately 30 percent complete and remains on time and on budget, Hennigan said.
Once the concourse is dried in, he said, the interior construction will require even more labor. The number of workers on the job site is expected to grow from about 450 to more than 600 a day.
The expansion is anticipated to be finished by December 2027.
In the end, RSW's new Concourse E will be nearly double the size of its neighboring one, adding another 513,000 sq. ft. to the main terminal. Initially, the new concourse will have 14 gates, with enough room to support a total of 33 gates in the future.
"It's purpose-built [and] purpose-designed," for growth, Hennigan told reporters.
Phase two of RSW's expansion includes reconfiguring and enlarging terminal access roadways and readjusting curbside areas to improve the flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, work that is well under way.
Following the construction tour, Rod Nobrega, COO of Suffolk Southwest Florida Construction, which serves as the project's general contractor, gave his take on the work's project via email.
He noted that the construction continues to "progress smoothly and in alignment with the project schedule. Key milestones are being met as planned. We pride ourselves on delivering what we promise, and this project is no exception."
"The Suffolk team, along with our partners and trade partners, remains fully committed to the success of this project and its timely delivery," Nobrega said. "Together, we are leveraging innovative technologies, data and advanced planning tools to enhance job site efficiencies, maintain a safe job site, increase worker productivity and help ensure we remain on track."
At first, a trio of airlines will operate out of the new concourse, with one selected from each of the existing RSW concourses based on their growth plans and projections in Southwest Florida, he added.
When asked if the three airlines had been chosen yet, Hennigan said the LCPA had a good idea of who they would be, but he did not want to speculate because "things are always subject to change."
Work Resumes on RSW's Initial Expansion Phase
During his tour, Hennigan was just as excited to show off the progress made on the airport expansion's first phase of work. After facing serious design flaws, significant delays and mounting costs, the project is back on track.
Following a redesign, the cost of the initial phase more than doubled, putting it at almost $678.4 million.
That part of the overall project involves expanding and improving the terminal by consolidating and streamlining security checkpoints and adding space for more shops and restaurants, seating and a business lounge.
Behind a temporary wall and door, in a busy construction zone hidden from passengers, Hennigan pointed to a vast, empty area where retail shops and restaurants once operated. By mid-February 2026, the space will be home to a temporary five-lane TSA checkpoint for Concourse C.
Once it opens, crews will shift to building a single security checkpoint with 16 lanes that will allow passengers to move freely between concourses after they pass through it.
With three separate checkpoints at each concourse, RSW officials are hoping that if one of them is extremely busy, at least one of the other two will avoid long lines for some passengers.
More than 164,000 sq. ft. of space will be remodeled as part of phase one, and 117,000 sq. ft. of new walkways and concessions also will be added. Concrete and steel work is visible from the inside and outside of the terminal, including the construction of a business lounge, a first for RSW.
At an Oct. 21 meeting, the airport's management committee approved a lease with Delta Air Lines for the construction and operation of the lounge. Lee County commissioners — who serve as port commissioners — still must finalize it.
The lounge will encompass approximately 10,000 sq. ft. on the third floor above the entrance to Concourse C.
In addition, Hennigan explained how the terminal is being reinforced with steel walls that will extend outward to create more room for concessions and seating on the second floor, giving customers a spacious feel in the mezzanine.
The expansion's designs also call for creating bright and open spaces indoors, with natural light and soaring ceilings.
If all had gone to plan, the project would likely have been finished by now. Based on its redesigns, Manhattan Construction, the Georgia-based contractor in charge of phase one of RSW's expansion, earlier estimated it would take more than three years to complete the work, including repairs and reinforcements to what had already been built.
After a contract extension to Manhattan Construction, the company could have the job completed by March 2029.
As the two phases of the project continue to ramp up, Hennigan said he expects about 1,500 construction workers to be on site each day. Meanwhile, the airport continues to operate around the clock.
No taxpayer money has been used for the airport's expansion; instead, its funding comes from a combination of sources, including state and federal grants, passenger fees and airport revenue bonds.
In 2024, RSW saw a record 11 million people arriving and departing from the Fort Myers airport. It ranks as one of the top 50 U.S. airports for passenger traffic.
With the new Concourse E, the airport will be able to manage an additional 10,000 to 15,000 passengers daily. Its master plan suggests it could be serving nearly 17.5 million passengers annually by 2041.
