Air travel from the Lehigh Valley will be faster and more convenient with a new $35 million terminal expansion at Lehigh Valley International Airport.
The new security checkpoint and terminal connector replaces an underground security checkpoint that was built in the early 1970s. It includes a new fourth security screening lane that will allow up to 740 passengers to be screened per hour, up from 300 per hour. Passengers will have a shorter distance to walk to reach their gate. 
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild joined state legislators, the mayors of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, and other elected officials and business leaders to dedicate the terminal July 28.
"This expansion should send a clear message that Allentown and the Lehigh Valley are ready to drive innovation and economic opportunity on a national and global scale," Shapiro said.
He said the Lehigh Valley has long been an economic leader in Pennsylvania and investing in infrastructure such as the new airport terminal “gives us the opportunity to supercharge that growth.”
“This community understands, instinctively, that when you invest in infrastructure, good economic opportunities and job creation comes,” he said. “We are building on a rich tradition of manufacturing and innovation here in the Lehigh Valley.”
Lehigh Valley International Airport, centrally located in the region, is a significant asset. It allows for convenient business travel and cargo shipments of materials and finished goods.
“The airport and the airport’s growth is critical to the growth of the Lehigh Valley,” Don Cunningham, President and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC) said in a video message during the dedication ceremony.
Officials hope the new terminal and increased passenger capacity will result in additional flights. The airport recently added a direct Allegiant flight to Denver, and in November will add flights to Melbourne, Florida.
Buttigieg said airports are “major economic centers and powerhouses … and I know how important this project and this airport is for this entire Lehigh Valley.” He said creating a better and easier experience for travelers means more people will choose to fly from LVIA (also known as Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton airport, or ABE).
“We're growing transportation across Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and beyond which is going to pay dividends for our status as a continually growing economic hub on the Eastern Seaboard,” Wild said. “Our state partners, the Governor, our state representatives, the state legislature, and PennDOT understand that investments in transportation infrastructure like ABE mean economic growth in communities like ours.”
“This is just the beginning,” she said. “Investing in our infrastructure is investing in our economy.”
The 40,000-square-foot terminal received nearly $13 million in state funding from the Commonwealth Finance Authority Multimodal Transportation Fund, the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, and Bureau of Aviation Capital Budget. Five million was allocated from the federal Airport Terminal Program, created by the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. LVIA has received more than $11.5 million in federal investments in the last two years.
Thomas Stoudt, Executive Director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, thanked a consortium of local banks - Fulton Bank, Peoples Security Bank & Trust, and Fidelity Bank - that financed the authority’s $15 million share of the project.
“This $35 million infrastructure investment alleviates a number of operational challenges, but also elevates the customer experiences for all of our passengers," Stoudt said.
The new terminal and four-lane security checkpoint upgrades include new equipment provided by the Transportation Security Administration, new vertical circulation equipment with redundancy to enhance ADA compliance, a state-of-the-art air purification system and improved air circulation, and a separation of outbound and inbound passenger flow.
Shapiro noted that more than 100 union workers helped to build the new terminal. One of the speakers at the dedication ceremony was a project foreman for Wind Gap Electric and a 43-year-veteran of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 375 who will retire soon.
The new terminal is scheduled to open in about a month, after the new security equipment is installed and other work is completed.
(Top photo courtesy of Lehigh Valley International Airport/Cannon Media LLC, bottom photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Governor's Office)