President Biden on Monday touted the bipartisan infrastructure law at Logan International Airport, which is receiving $50 million from the massive federal spending package for upgrades to its international terminal, ahead of a speech this afternoon in Dorchester on his Cancer Moonshot Initiative.
The airport “is part of a system that moves goods and services for key industries in the area like medical supplies, technology products, and seafood,” Biden said. “We’re creating a modern terminal worthy of America’s city on the hill.”
The bipartisan infrastructure law funnels a total of $62 million to Logan, including $50 million for the international terminal and $12 million to roadways around the airport. The upgrades will create 5,900 jobs, officials said.
Advertisement
The Logan construction is the largest of the 85 airport projects funded by the first billion dollars of the infrastructure bill, said Mitch Landrieu, a senior adviser to the president and White House infrastructure coordinator.
“In 2019, 42 million people flew through this airport,” Biden said at Logan. “Before the pandemic it was the 16th largest airport in the United States. It’s more than an airport, it’s an economic engine . . . But it needs a significant upgrade to accommodate the passengers flying in and out from all over the world.”
Biden said the project will add upgrades that include more ticket counters, ramps, rails, elevators, wheelchair-accessible shuttles and buses, a new HVAC system, and electric-powered gates to increase energy efficiency.
Terminal E opened in 1974, when Logan served 1.4 million international passengers. In 2019, the airport served more than four times that many passengers through the same number of gates.
In 2017, Governor Charlie Baker’s administration announced an earlier round of renovations and enhancements at Terminal E, including adding 95,000 square feet, renovating three existing gates, and adding the required services to accommodate larger aircrafts.
Advertisement
Air Force One landed late Monday morning at Logan, where Baker, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and members of the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation spoke.
“Today we start to see a different way that we can make investments to support a critical piece of infrastructure in our airport that make it healthy, clean, and green, and ensure it benefits our communities,” Wu said.
Baker highlighted the importance of the federal funding, including its impact on climate resiliency.
“It will dramatically change the way we live, work, and in some cases play, here in Massachusetts,” he said.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthajgross.