$23.5M McAllen Airport expansion completed

McALLEN – A $23.5 million expansion is completed and now open at McAllen-Miller International Airport.

"We’ve got the expanded restaurant area and newsstand area, an expanded waiting area and 40,000 additional sf that we added," said Elizabeth Suarez, the city’s aviation director.

Work continues on two of the airport’s six gates — one more than before — as workers finish up installing exterior sprinkler systems. That phase of the project is expected to finish in January 2015.

Additionally, work continues on expanding the Transportation Security Administration passenger screening area, which is expected to be complete by February 2014.

The airport handles about 60 percent of commercial traffic in and out from the Rio Grande Valley.