A ceremonial groundbreaking took place as leaders both local and state gathered in the Hub City at the Lafayette Regional Airport.

It was a historic day as the airport was constructed in the 1950’s and got a facelift in the 80’s but the numbers show a pretty steady growth. 

After a record number of passengers in 2017, this expansion is needed.

Steven Picou, Executive Director of Lafayette Regional Airport says, “Our current terminal is just an older design; pre 9/11, and it doesn’t have the ability to expand very easily. Our new building will. Our terminal is being built with capacity for the future.”

“It’s going to be approximately 110,000 square feet, replacing a 62,000 square foot terminal today that is at least six decades old and does not meet current standards and the current demands of the airport”, explained Governor John Bel Edwards.

Director Picou says the construction crews were brought in during the early stages of planning to ensure there would be no surprise cost on the back-end.

With bidding done and ground officially broken, construction should take about two and a half years.

“Before we know it Lafayette is going to have the level of first-class air hub that we need; that the future of economic development for all of Acadiana can depend upon”, Congressman Clay Higgins said

For more information on how you can get a live look at the ongoing construction, check out this link.