TPA’s Airside D prepares critical foundations work
Almost 1,500 iron pipes are being driven into the ground at Tampa International Airport as part of creating the base of the future Airside terminal.
Construction work for Tampa International Airport’s Airside D is going down – way down – before it can go up next year.
Workers are currently driving what are known as ductile iron pilings deep into the ground in the northwest corner of TPA’s airfield as part of the Airside terminal’s foundations.
The technique involves hammering almost 1,500 iron pipes between 4.65 and 6.5 inches wide into the ground an average of 40 to 50 feet to limestone bedrock. This improves the soil friction and creates a firm base for the foundation.
Some of the pipes are spaced into groups of three to five pipes at regular intervals and then filled with a concrete-like grout mixture before being capped with concrete pads that will support the building. Other pipes are arranged to undergo a similar process but will support a stem wall along the Airside’s perimeter.
Each individual pipe is designed to support an average of 5,000 pounds per square foot, although some support as much as 8,000 pounds each.
The foundation work began earlier this month and is scheduled to be completed in late December, with under-drainage system installation now underway. Several other projects that will enable construction of the project, including secure fencing, access roads and an office trailer complex, have been completed.
The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board approved a $92 million supplemental contract in October that includes funding for structural steel, metal decking and precast concrete, which will be visible as the building goes vertical as soon as mid-2026.
At approximately 600,000 square feet, Airside D will be the largest Airside at TPA when it’s completed. The project has a preliminary cost of $1.5 billion, with construction currently scheduled to be completed in late 2028. A final design for the project is expected soon from the design-build team for the project, which is led by construction company Hensel Phelps, with Architecture and Engineering company HNTB Corporation, in association with Gensler.
The new Airside D is being built in the same spot as the original Airside D, which closed and was demolished in 2007.
The Airside terminal is a centerpiece project of Phase 3 of TPA’s Master Plan, a blueprint for how the Airport will deal with projected traveler growth. The Airside will help TPA, which currently serves an estimated 25 million passengers annually, handle up to 35 million annual passengers by 2037. The project's official groundbreaking was in December 2024.
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