RENO, Nev. (KRNV & MyNews4.com) -- The two-year-long construction project at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport is nearing completion and airport officials are hoping you'll want to arrive early to take advantage of the new features that are launching this year.
"275 local construction workers have been put to work with this $27 million project over the past year," said airport spokesman Brian Kulpin.
Kulpin is talking about the gateway project, which kicked off in November 2010 and is scheduled wrap up this spring.
"You'll see all the walls come down, construction cones gone," Kulpin said. "It'll be the airport that we want it to be."
Once construction is complete, instead of having two separate security checkpoints upstairs, they'll have one larger checkpoint downstairs.
"It will be a large checkpoint area with plenty of room to grow if we need that and a lot of lanes for people, so this won't slow down security it will probably speed it up and get people on their way even faster," Kulpin said.
Kulpin says the new security area includes scanners that are less invasive than the ones some airports are using.
"People can feel more comfortable about going through this security," Kulpin said. "It's higher tech, safer for the body so we're excited that we waited."
Upstairs they'll have new restaurants and stores selling products like jewelry, electronics and outdoor apparel.
"All those stores and restaurants in both concourses available to you," Kulpin said. "If you have a friend traveling on American and you're on Southwest you can walk them to the gate, so it's going to be such a nice change for our passengers."
The new Timber Ridge outdoor-themed restaurant comes with a view.
"It'll be built along an 18-foot wall of glass windows looking out over the tarmac and the mountains to the east," Kulpin said. "[It will] really be a spectacular place to get a bite to eat and a drink."
Kulpin says construction end-dates are always a moving target, but they're hoping to have everything up and running in April.
