 Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport (MSP) has been named a 2016 TripAdvisor® Travelers’ Choice Favorite for U.S. Airports in the large airports (3rd),
shopping (3rd), and dining (2nd) categories.
The inaugural award highlights
the five most popular domestic airports in the categories of: large airports,
medium airports, shopping and dining. Award winners were determined based on the
results from a survey of more than 114,000 TripAdvisor community members.
Only one other airport besides
MSP was named in three of the four categories.
“MSP Airport has received many
accolades over the years, but ranking 2nd or 3rd in all categories for
which we were eligible is particularly satisfying,” said Brian Ryks, CEO of the
Metropolitan Airports Commission, owner and operator of MSP Airport.
“We always
strive to provide the best experience for our customers. This award shows we’re
doing just that.”
“A traveler’s experience at an airport is a critical component of the trip – it
sets the mood for the beginning or ending,” said Bryan Saltzburg, senior vice
president and general manager for TripAdvisor’s global flights business.
“From
major travel hubs to smaller airports, these Travelers’ Choice award-winners
earn high marks from the TripAdvisor community.”
For more information
about the awards visit this web page.
|
Passengers who arrive at Terminal 1 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport will start noticing more roadwork this fall, as construction activity continues for a new parking ramp and a new hotel.
But even as traffic patterns are occasionally altered, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) will work to keep passenger drop-offs, pick-ups and parking access flowing smoothly.
“We’re trying to make it as painless as possible,” said Al Dye, a project manager for the MAC’s Airport Development. “There will be some lane shifting but the roads stay open. For the public, it should be fairly seamless.”
 Terminal 1’s existing pay station auto exit plaza (lower left) will be relocated beyond the post office and replaced with a 5,000-car parking ramp. Current site work includes a relocated tunnel (the curved trench) for airside services and prep for the new outbound road, which will go over the tunnel.
The roadway redesign will facilitate the new 5,000-space parking ramp and also the new hotel that will be built by Minneapolis-based Graves Hospitality. Together, the ramp and hotel represent a broader initiative to improve service for airport travelers.
The hotel, which will be branded as an Intercontinental, will have twelve stories and 300 rooms, along with a luxury spa, observation deck, restaurant and a bar and lounge.
The Sequence
The work to redesign the airport land beyond the end of Concourse G started with the relocation of a Delta Air Lines' air cargo storage facility. The existing Delta cargo building will be demolished this winter. The new facility, relocated farther down Northwest Drive toward Hwy. 5, is under construction.
That relocation will facilitate the construction of the new outbound road, set to start as soon as weather permits in the spring of 2017. Until then, drivers exiting Terminal 1 should see little impact from the construction, beyond the current right-hand lane closure just past the exit plaza, Dye said.
Work on a new exit plaza and pay stations – located farther out toward Hwy. 5 -- are also underway and set to open in late summer of 2017.
After passing through the new exit plaza, outbound traffic will loop back to catch the main road out of the airport. The loop is needed to give drivers some additional length in the road to choose their exit toward either Interstate 494 or Hwy. 55.
With the new exit plaza open, construction of the new parking ramp will begin on the site of the existing exit plaza. That work is scheduled to begin in August 2017 and continue through the parking ramp’s opening in the fall of 2019.
The tunnel will also close for about 7-8 days later this fall and baggage will be transported around the concourses.
Construction of a new skyway serving the hotel will lead to lane closures for inbound traffic this fall, Dye said. A couple of overnight shutdowns of the inbound road will be required, Dye said, but traffic will be re-routed onto Northwest Drive, providing continuous access to Terminal 1.
The inbound closures will run from about 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., minimizing the impact.
MSP Reimagined
Fly Magazine
Book a Meeting Room
Airline Listing
Eat, Shop, Relax
Parking Availability
Parking Options
Passenger and Operations Reports
| 
