Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport’s biggest-ever parking project, a $25 million, four-level garage designed to boost convenience and protect travelers from the weather, has hit its first milestone.
Site demolition has begun for the 1,300-space garage that will sit in front of the airport’s passenger terminal, according to builder Hoar Construction.
The milestone is the first of about a half dozen key benchmarks in raising the airport’s first garage during the next 12 months, said Will Gaither, project executive for Hoar.
But the work comes as air travel has sunk in Chattanooga and around the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
At Lovell Field on Friday, two parking lots were practically empty and another was less than half full as many people avoid air travel due to coronavirus concerns.