REDMOND, OR -- The Redmond Airport has revealed the latest design plans for its terminal expansion. Work should begin on phase one of three next summer. 

Airport Director Zach Bass says that includes ticketing counters for more airlines and basement-level security and baggage areas, “What most people will see is a really large second floor concourse that pushes off the building to the west with about seven jet bridges, more retail, more food options and about almost 1000 seats.”

He tells KBND News major passenger impacts won’t be felt immediately though, “We probably won't start building out the concourse and impacting customers, their travel or flow through the airport until the summer of 2025. But overall, it will be about a 2-to-2-and-a-half-year project.”

Bass says the airport will try to strike a balance between modernization and Roberts Field’s rustic roots, “As we've grown and our aircraft size has grown. We need to make sure we are also providing customers with more options for food, for seating, for boarding planes that you don't have to go out in the ice and snow in the winter to do. And so yes, we want to keep the same feel with the understanding that we also need to grow.”

He says the terminal expansion will keep pace with what has become a major travel hub, “Eight years ago, we were at 600,000 total passengers. And this year we're projected to hit 1.25 million. We've seen extreme growth and we're going to grow along with it.”

Bass says there could be some first phase add-ons if more federal and state funding grants are awarded.