Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Tops Out South Canopy

New South Construction, McCarthy Building Companies and Synergy Development Partners’ joint venture known as NSMS, along with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia), celebrated an important milestone with the installation of the final structural steel on the south terminal canopy and topping out of the project. The joint venture broke ground on the project in September 2016. The north side canopy was completed in October of 2018. The south side portion of the canopy project reached this milestone 32 days ahead of schedule, thanks to lessons learned from constructing the north canopy. The overall project is expected to be complete in April 2020.

Consisting of 3,500 tons of steel covered in 19,776 square yards of lightweight, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene, the canopies create a new iconic gateway for the city of Atlanta. With an average of 275,000 people traveling through the Atlanta airport daily, the canopies improve the passenger experience by protecting visitors from the elements and improving traffic flow with the planned addition of elevated walkways.

In addition to the canopies, ATL is modernizing the Central Passenger Terminal Complex. NSMS is making upgrades to all 12 entrances and associated facades, lobbies and curbside check-ins, bringing the nearly 40-year-old terminal into the 21st century. This project is one of the first components of the ATLNext development program. The goal of the project is to bring convenience and connectivity to passengers, as well as attract and grow business interest for ATL.

“Although we still have a way to go, the final structural member’s placement marks the successful completion of over three years of planning and execution of an extremely logistically challenging erection project,” said Dan Hobson, project director for NSMS. “General practice is to isolate the public from the construction process, however in our case, hundreds of thousands of passengers walk directly under it. In the future, as the canopies become an icon for the city of Atlanta, hopefully many folks will remember watching it being constructed and feel connected to it.”

Project fast facts:

• Canopy structures consist of 19 super-trusses on the north and south domestic terminals.
• 38 total super-trusses are each anchored to a 21-foot-tall pier column and span across eight lanes of traffic. Each of the piers that support the canopy frames is made of nearly 30 cubic yards of concrete and supported on micro piles that are as deep as 75 feet.
• Each span takes one week to put up, one week to align and one week to weld.
• The canopy material is ETFE membrane, a fluorine-based plastic. ETFE is a durable, recyclable material known for its design flexibility to withstand extreme weather conditions.
• This is the biggest installation of ETFE in the U.S. and the first in an aviation-related project (it is usually used in stadiums).
• 3,708 colored lights illuminate the canopies.