CLEARWATER, Fla. — The St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport will soon enter the design phase for a $110 million main terminal expansion project after welcoming a record-breaking 2.49 million travelers last year.

“We’re continuing to break records and we’re very fortunate,” said airport director Thomas Jewsbury. ‘To keep up with that growth we have to expand.”

On May 21, Pinellas County commissioners unanimously approved $14 million in funding to pay for the design and construction management firm. Jewsbury said airport officials plan to add a contractor by the end of the year, and once construction begins it will take about four years to complete.

“We’re embarking on our biggest terminal expansion that this airport has seen,” he said. “Which we will start design here in a couple of weeks, giving our airport the opportunity to go ahead and continue to grow, to add destinations, to add new airlines.”

The main terminal expansion will add four new gates with jet bridges, a centralized TSA checkpoint and new concessions for food and beverage. The expansion will be able to accommodate an additional 1 million passengers per year.

“We’re going to need more employees, but it is definitely going to be a good thing,” said airport craftworker Jodey Stambaugh. “Expansion is good, growth is good. Every month, we keep breaking numbers here.”

Stambaugh maintains the airport grounds and makes sure it’s well-manicured.

“When we cut this grass out here and it looks great and people land, they’re excited,” she said. “They’re on vacation and we greet them with a happy smile and a well-manicured airport.”

Stambaugh said construction has begun on a new taxiway to accommodate the future expansion in one of the grassy fields she maintains.

“Taxiway Charlie, and that’s going to help when they put in more jetways out here,” she said. “They’re going to be able to taxi out that way because we’re going to lose (taxiway) Tango.”

Jewsbury said in a separate project they’re planning to build a new parking garage because their surface lots quickly fill up on busy travel days.

“We have pretty much maximized our area of parking,” he said. “So, we need to go vertical. That’s why we’re moving forward with the parking garage.”

Jewsbury said last year’s record-breaking number of passengers had a $3.4 billion economic impact in the area. The $110 million main terminal expansion will be funded by the airport, as well as through federal and state grants.

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport offers 64 nonstop flights from Allegiant Airlines.