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Airline passengers entering Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal in 2025 will be greeted by a unique Steel City experience: a connector bridge and tunnel that will link to the current Airside Terminal.

Airport officials have unveiled the designs of a dynamic connector bridge and tunnel from the new terminal — now under construction — to the existing airside center core, a Pittsburgh gateway for passengers to reach airside shops, restaurants and, of course, gates, a press release from Blue Sky News reads.

“Pittsburgh is a city with a magnificent entrance and this design, as part of our new terminal program, provides travelers with a similar experience,” Paul Hoback, chief development officer for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said in the release. “Capturing the essence of Pittsburgh is an important part of our new facility.”

Construction on these new features will start in the coming weeks in the Airside Terminal around the escalators that lead up to the center core from the tram. As a result, passengers should allow more time to get to their gates during construction; new signage will be posted to guide them around the work.

The connector bridge will mirror the dramatic entrance motorists view upon exiting the Fort Pitt Tunnel, drawing on the beauty of the region. 

The bridge’s ceiling will be covered in dynamic lighting designed to mimic the scenic skies of Western Pennsylvania: “light, fresh colors in the morning and deep oranges and purples near sunset.”

“This is something that’s uniquely Pittsburgh, and we want passengers to have that feeling of awe as they enter the mezzanine level,” Hoback said.

As passengers reach the end of the tunnel, they will be greeted with a full view of the terminal and new escalators leading them to their gates.

One of the primary priorities in construction of the new terminal is “for Pittsburgh, by Pittsburgh,” and the connector bridge embodies PIT’s dedication to driving growth in the community, using fabricated materials from nearby Sippel Steel in Ambridge, the release reads.

PHOTO BY BLUE SKY NEWS | PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Progress on the airport’s ambitious $1.4 billion Terminal Modernization Program continues. Once complete, the project — which broke ground in October 2021 — will nearly triple the amount of parking available at the airport by installing what officials say will be one of the largest parking garages in the region. 

It is designed to provide high-quality, cost-efficient and flexible facilities for the future, with new public health and safety features that improve the passenger, staff and visitor experience throughout. It will also reduce the escalating maintenance costs of an aging facility and systems and transition to greener, more sustainable methods

The new terminal will also reduce the time to get from curb to airside by about 50%.

Watch a timeline of the terminal project ⇓