McGhee Tyson Airport’s new six-story parking garage is still aiming for a summer 2027 opening, despite wet weather, difficult rock and a string of expensive construction adjustments. The $175.4 million project has now risen through its third level, giving travelers a more tangible glimpse of the airport’s biggest parking overhaul in years.
At a July 22 meeting, the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority board received a progress update showing crews moving steadily through the structure. According to The Daily Times, the first third-level columns and crash wall were completed June 25, while one section had finished 14 of 47 elevated post-tensioned slabs by July 15.
The schedule has already slipped from an original spring 2027 completion date. WVLT reported that a wet spring cost crews workdays and that more pinnacle rock than expected had to be drilled through before foundations could reach suitable bedrock. Contractors have since worked around those complications without another timeline revision.
A 3,500-Space Fix For McGhee Tyson’s Parking Crunch
The garage is designed to add 3,500 parking spaces, with one level reserved for rental-car operations. The airport’s Flight Plan describes the project as a central piece of a decade-long expansion effort aimed at handling more passengers and improving the trip from the parking lot to the terminal.
The price tag has moved upward along with the garage. The airport authority approved a first change order that added $8.5 million and a second that increased the allowance for garage-to-airport connections by $2.2 million, bringing the budget from $164.7 million to $175.4 million; The Daily Times reported that the authority had spent $94.1 million, or 54% of the budget, as of the latest update.
Crews are continuing concrete pours, steel work and framing while utility work and the parking-management building move forward. The airport’s construction update says travelers should expect ongoing traffic-flow and pedestrian adjustments as equipment and staging areas shift, with the connecting walkway and the garage’s foothill-inspired exterior elements coming later in the build.
