TAMPA, Fla. — Crews at Tampa International Airport have been working to complete the red express curbside expansion project which is expected to open next year and will allow passengers with carry-on only bags direct access to the transfer level.

“Whether they’re arriving or departing, they can skip the full service curb and head directly up to the transfer level,” said Dan Seeley, TPA senior manager of construction. “It’s the second part of our main terminal project.”

The six-year, $320-million main terminal expansion project includes demolition work, along with building a new energy plant, bridges, roads and two express curbsides, according to Seeley.

“We started this project in 2019,” he said. “A lot of phases on it because we can’t do it all at once.”

The red express curbside will mimic the award-winning blue express curbside which opened in late 2021. The innovative solution splits the passenger load at the airport which makes it quicker and easier for passengers to get around, according to Seeley.

“So, we were the first of our kind in the nation having a separate express curbside,” he said. “It has been a fantastic success.”

Seeley said for the red express curbside project crews have been modifying the 1971 administration building, while also adding new structures.

“This isn’t our typical construction project,” he said. “This is building a building under a building surrounded by two buildings with cars moving around us the whole time. So, it’s very complicated.”

Crews are also building the shuttle station for the $787.4 million future Airside D project which will have 16 new gates.

“It’s the receiving end from what will be a future airside,” he said. “Right now, we had to build it with this project just because the confines are so tight.”

The red express curbside is expected to open in the summer of 2025.