Tectonic Two Miles

RDU recently broke ground on its new runway—and this is only the beginning of the airport’s plans to soar.

Picture it. You’re boarding an American Airlines redeye flight to London via RDU’s nonstop service that’s been zooming travelers across the pond with ease for the past ~20 years. After your plane launches off the nearly 40-year-old 10,000-footlong runway strip, airport employees get to work during an overnight process replacing slabs of concrete showing wear and tear—one 625-square-foot strip at a time. 

The 20-hourlong operation involves demolishing the old strip, pouring a new one and allowing the pavement enough time to dry before the returning European flight touches ground the following day. And while this upkeep method has maintained the circa-1986 runway for the past four years—replacing 275 slabs and churning up a cost to the tune of $30 million in the process (~$100,000 for each slab)—the seasoned runway is ready for an upgrade. 

Dubbed 5L, 23R, the current primary runway serves as central NC’s gateway to the world: by connecting local passengers to places around the globe; bringing in renowned public officials  (hey, Air Force One!); transporting local and nationally acclaimed professional athletes to and fro; and welcoming people from around the world to our community. 

Plainly, this strip signifies more than a couple miles of concrete. Not only does it link the Triangle to the world—it boosts our ever-burgeoning city’s dynamic growth and economy. 

“Do we have any 2 miles of highway that are nearly as important as these 2 miles here [on this runway]? I dare say we do not,” remarks NCDOT Secretary of Transportation Joey Hopkins at the groundbreaking. “The new runway will help the Triangle accommodate the explosive growth we are seeing and expand connections to markets all around the globe.”… The airports in our state contribute a mammoth economic impact, with RDU accounting for $17 billion of that sum. 

Naturally, as Raleigh continues to expand and flourish, so too must our airport. This year alone, RDU has added 46 additional routes, 21 of which head to new international/domestic locations, and by summer 2024, the airport will offer nonstop international services to the UK, France, Iceland, Mexico, Canada, the Bahamas and, as of most recently, Germany. To wit, this summer marked big numbers for the transportation hub, with 1.4 million passengers making their way through RDU in July alone—the most to date. 

After receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration in late August, RDU began to quickly move forward with plans to seek final permits and implement an entirely new runway, a project that has been in the works since 2016 and is now estimated to complete in 2028. 

“This critical infrastructure will allow RDU to keep up with the region’s increasing demand for air travel and help RDU recruit new airlines and more routes,” says Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. 

But before you wonder how air travel will continue to thrive amid construction efforts over the following five to seven years, rest assured: The new runway is being built near Terminal 2 and parallel to the existing runway, which will remain operational during construction.

“If we were to lose that runway and take it down for an extended period of time, you wind up losing your London service, your Paris service, international service and your West Coast service. … Once you lose service like that, it is almost impossible to get it back,” elaborates Landguth.

However, the project is still seeking funding. The new runway comes alongside RDU’s slew of current and upcoming improvements and additions—from parking lot enhancements to added gates, baggage carousels and security checkpoints to uberpopular local food and beverage concepts recently bowing and coming soon. As RDU continues to fly high, the recent runway groundbreaking marks an exciting milestone for the airport and our city. Raleigh is growing and our airport’s incoming runway—amid other improvements—only further serves to showcase our city’s ability to soar.

• 20+ New gates coming
• ~$900 million Tax revenue RDU generates for state and local government
• 55 Nonstop destinations
• ~$17 billion RDU economic impact in NC
• 16 Airlines flying through RDU
• 85,000 RDU-related jobs
• 10,639 feet Length of new runway
• ~$534 MILLION New runway cost
• 2028 Expected runway completion