LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
The culmination of 9.5 million hours of work will be fully realized when the state-of-the-art Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport opens next Wednesday.
The new facility will serve to relieve crowds at existing terminals, officials expect. Last year, nearly 41.5 million passengers were served at McCarran. New Terminal 3 measures at 1.9 million square feet.
Clark County officials said the new technology and amenities housed at Terminal 3 will also be a big draw to McCarran's new section.
"It's built will all the modern technology that we are aware of, everything from self-tagging to self-boarding to 100 percent common use," Randall Walker, Director of Aviation at McCarran International Airport, said. "All the signage that deals with carriers is dynamic so that if a carrier moves or merges, we can change that easily with keystrokes on a computer."
It was, of course, no easy task to complete.
"At the peak, we had about 1,800 workers here," Walker noted. "It was a very busy place."
Aviation officials said about 210 employees were hired back in anticipation of opening day. The positions were cut during the recession.
Walker said almost all of those positions have been filled but anticipates stores and restaurants inside "T3" will be hiring additional workers.
Officials noted the terminal will slowly open in phases over the next several months. The number of flights is expected to increase and, with that, the volume of staff will expand, as well.
You can view a digital guide of new "T3" at www.mccarran.com/T3-information.
Stay tuned to FOX5 for continuing coverage on Terminal 3 up to its grand opening on June 27.
Copyright 2012 KVVU (KVVU Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
New technology will be part of the draw of Terminal 3, aviation officials said. (Armando Navarro/FOX5)
