When welcoming guests into your home, you want to make sure everything is ready.
Next year, the city of Philadelphia is expecting guests from all over the world for a variety of events including the 250th Anniversary of the United States. Major sporting events scheduled for Philadelphia next year will include the FIFA World Cup, the Major League Baseball All-Star game, a PGA Championship event, the NCAA men's college basketball first and second rounds, plus many more high-profile events.
Philadelphia International Airport photo
Contractors and construction planners at the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) intend to be ready with an eye on making the airport the front door for the city in welcoming visitors. The airport construction team has a dizzying list of projects, nearly 50 in all, with a total price tag of approximately $500 million. Api Appulingam is coordinating the projects, staying connected to a small army of contractors.
"We are choosing to focus on the passenger-facing areas, including bathrooms and holding rooms," said Appulingam. "We want to improve the passenger experience with an emphasis on modernizing our facilities and infrastructure."
Runway Rehabilitation
Foremost, among airport improvement projects is ensuring that the runways are safe and seamless. In September 2024, contractor Haines & Kibblehouse plunged into night construction on Runway 9R-27L. Last rehabilitated nearly 15 years ago, PHL's main runway was ready for a facelift. Haines & Kibblehouse resurfaced the runway's asphalt surface at a cost of $23 million. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provided nearly 70 percent of these funds.
The contractor used standard equipment for the paving operation, including paving machines and rollers to achieve proper compaction. The runway's dimensions (1,200 ft. long by 200 ft. wide), required approximately 76,000 tons of asphalt. The construction team used a P-401 asphalt mix. This durable mix is built to withstand heavy loads and frequent takeoffs and landings. The runway is the airport's longest and most technically advanced with 25-ft. shoulders in addition to the main body of the pavement.
Philadelphia International Airport photo
Runway 9R-27L is essential to PHL's daily operations, meaning that most of the work had to be done at night. The paving team worked from late spring 2025 and finished the job in September 2025.
The FAA determined that 69 airports in the country, including PHL, needed added stopping assurances on some runways. In a similar vein, some mountain highways have runaway truck ramps to keep trucks with brake failures from careening down roads and crashing into motorists.
The engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) has a similar purpose. The EMAS keeps planes from overrunning the runway into other planes or nearby housing. These systems are especially needed in adverse weather conditions. Runway 8-26 was the only runway at PHL that needed an EMAS system.
EMAS consists of crushable concrete blocks, cushions and other collapsible materials that will absorb the impact from the plane and slow it down without endangering either the plane or the passengers. The cost of installing the system was $15 million. Workers finished installing EMAS in late summer 2025.
Restroom Upgrades
One of the first things airport visitors ask when arriving is the location of the restrooms. PHL has made significant improvements in this area, having just completed phase five of the restroom rebuild.
"We are continuing to learn, improve and collaborate more with every restroom construction phase," said Julie Coyle, HNTB project manager. "We're proud to complete phase five ahead of the city's upcoming major events happening in 2026. It's important that we provide guests with new facilities that far exceed their expectations."
The construction teams will now move ahead to the next phase by building eight more restroom sets. This next phase is scheduled for completion in 2026. The current restroom renovation program includes the reconstruction of 30 restroom sets and the building of two new sets.
An example of the new facilities is the 1,900-sq.-ft. restroom set in Terminal E, which has adjustable adult changing tables, which will improve convenience for travelers. The new restroom areas also will have lactation suites and service animal relief areas.
Philadelphia International Airport photo
The airport upgrades will include technological features as well including passenger feedback tablets.
PHL handled nearly 31 million passengers in 2024. Planners and construction teams anticipate even bigger crowds during 2026. They plan to have the airport ready for its grand coming-out party in 2026.
"It's helpful when everyone understands that we have a firm deadline," said Appulingam. "When I tell people it's for 2026, they tend to move quickly on a permit or approval. There's a shared understanding that 2026 will be an important time for the city and for the airport."
The airport construction team is concerned not just with getting things done on time but also done right. The team also has been focused on doing the work in a way that is good for the environment. Like the LEED guidelines for regular construction, the Envision Award recognizes excellence for linear construction like runways and highways.
The construction team's work on PHL's Taxiway J and U & Y rehabilitation was honored with Envision Verified Awards. Work on Philadelphia's regional airport (PNE) also was recognized with an Envision Award for Taxiway L. These are the first three projects in the state of Pennsylvania to have earned the Envision certification. CEG
