March 01--NEWPORT NEWS -- The two security screening checkpoints at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport may be combined into a single station.
The Peninsula Airport Commission received an update on a proposed consolidation project, which would include an expanded lobby area between the two concourses, at the board's recent monthly meeting.
A single streamlined checkpoint would open onto a curved central space with tall windows connecting concourses A and B, spanning a portion of what now is empty tarmac in the angle between the two gate areas.
"Everything would feed out of one check point," said Airport Assistant Director Ted Kitchens.
"We want to give it an open feel," Mark Wilcer, of the Architecture firm Reynolds, Smith and Hills, Inc., told the commissioners during the update presentation.
Kitchens said the consolidated checkpoint would address U.S. Transportation Security Administration staffing concerns. Each stand-alone checkpoint requires a staff of eight people, so when both are open at the Newport News airport, 16 people are needed.
The new central checkpoint will have three stations, but could be expanded to five, said Wilcer. Instead of eight, three TSA employees are needed for each open lane beyond the first.
The airport is using a $750,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to work on designs, floor plans and schematics. If the six-member commission moves forward with construction, the airport could issue a call for bids in the fall.
Airport Director of Marketing Jessica Wharton said officials do not yet have a potential start date for construction, or a final estimate on cost. Kitchens said the FAA would pay for the construction.
The new checkpoint would be built where the airport's Blue Sky Cafe and Hudson News store are located now, under the pyramid-shaped central skylight beyond the ticket counters. The store and restaurant would move to the proposed new space beyond the checkpoint, said Wharton.
"More concessions will be added beyond the checkpoints," said Wharton.
Wilcer showed the commission renderings of the new proposed central space, noting the ceiling-high curved windows and open spaces with a variety of seating areas. He said the space also would be energy efficient.
Kitchens said construction would include upgrading the facility's security equipment. The airport likely would add an expedited screening lane for people enrolled in the TSA Pre-check program as well, he added.
Wilcer said the new checkpoint "will improve systems and efficiency."
Grimes can be reached at 757-247-4758.
Copyright 2014 - Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
