New Orleans’ $1 billion new airport terminal will be opening a few months later than expected due to a sewer line that’s sinking into the city’s notoriously swampy ground.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that the terminal, now under construction and originally slated to debut next February, won’t open until May 15, 2019 so that the sewer problem can be addressed.
This isn’t the first delay for the terminal, whose previously announced opening dates have included May 2018 and October 2018.
New Orleans’ “gumbo like” soil has caused other problems for the airport, including settling of the tarmac. Officials offered assurances that the subsidence issue is not affecting the new terminal building itself, however.
“We’re not sinking into oblivion,” said New Orleans aviation board member Doug Thornton.
The cost for the sewer-line repairs pushed the terminal project over the $1 billion mark; previous estimates pegged the cost at $993.7 million.
When completed, the terminal will have 35 aircraft gates, three concourses, a single security checkpoint, and a mix of local and national shopping and dining options.
