Springfield airport embarking on $4M flooring initiative

A multimillion-dollar initiative to replace carpeting at Springfield-Branson National Airport is part of tens of millions of dollars' worth of construction projects bringing improvements over an 18-month period.

The Springfield airport expects to start work by August on the $4 million flooring replacement project that's projected to take 42 weeks to complete, according to a news release. The 100,000-square-foot initiative calls for the removal of carpet and the addition of terrazzo, a hard surface made with liquid resin, chips of glass and stone, in phases to reduce customer interruptions.

"Terrazzo is a unique challenge. Installing it takes a lot of time," said Dave Schaumburg, assistant director of operations for the airport, in the release. "We’ll be guiding customers around the construction zones to get from one part of the terminal to another. It won’t be unlike following a detour during road construction."

Officials say over 15 million people have walked on the airport's carpet since the terminal opened in 2009. It's become worn and no longer meets the airport's needs, they say.

The new flooring, with architectural themes of water, rock and the natural green spaces of the Ozarks, came about from visioning workshops held by the airport in partnership with Minneapolis-based aviation architectural design firm Alliiance, according to the release.

Other projects
With the flooring, the airport will have completed roughly $35 million in construction projects in an 18-month period by the end of 2026, the release indicates.

Projects that are planned in the near future or were recently completed include the following:
• Nearly $10 million in concrete and infrastructure improvements for the airport's cargo ramp were completed in May.
• In the next 12 months, the airport is estimating nearly $10 million worth of concrete will be poured as part of its terminal apron expansion project.
• Five jet bridges from the late 1990s will be replaced through a $7.6 million project that includes a $5.3 million grant.
• The airport is adding automated exit lanes this fall.