ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHANTILLY
SOURCE: Associated Press
ONCE CONSIDERED a white elephant, Washington Dulles International Airport is undergoing a $1 billion expansion .
When architect Eero Saarinen sketched the soaring walls and dipsy-doodle roof for a new airport in the countryside 40 miles from Washington, it seemed to many a farfetched and far-flung enterprise.
The airport to be named for statesman John Foster Dulles was too far from Washington and too big, contemporary critics said.
But 40 years later, Washington Dulles International Airport is undergoing a $1 billion expansion.
``We're jammed,'' said James A. Wilding, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority.
Dulles opened in 1962, the year after Saarinen died. At that time transit officials estimated Dulles could handle a maximum of 13.5 million passengers a year.
Dulles now handles about that number, with approximately 800 flights taking off or landing daily.
Eventually, the airport will probably carry 50 million passengers a year, Wilding said.
Expanding the unique building is tricky, but Wilding and other airport officials say they have preserved Saarinen's profile for the building by building two low-slung extensions on either side of the main concourse, with extensive basement space beneath them.
Saarinen's signature winglike structure was designed to mirror the emerging jet age of aviation.
``Dulles was widely billed as the first airport designed for the jet airplane,'' Wilding said.
Although it seemed inconceivable then that the 600-foot main terminal would be outgrown, Saarinen included contingency plans.
Airport authorities adapted Saarinen's plans to more than double the terminal. The expansion will open in stages from July to September.
About 70 percent of the project is funded by bonds the airport authority issued. The rest is federal money and fees paid by airlines.
For decades, Dulles was something of a white elephant - underused in part because of its distance from Washington.
Washington National Airport in Arlington is much closer to the city and to the older suburbs. But Northern Virginia's suburban sprawl moved west, and office complexes and housing now surround the Dulles site.
``Come here around 4 p.m.,'' joked airport Manager Keith Meurlin, who led a tour of the new facility recently. ``The lines are pretty long.''
Saarinen's building has what is called a catenary roof, a concave sweep supported by cables. Concrete and glass walls jut at an angle to meet it.
The design was too modern for many tastes when it was built but later won landmark designation. It is now considered one of the renowned architect's triumphs, along with the TWA Terminal at Kennedy Airport in New York and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
Meanwhile, National Airport is getting a major facelift. That project will also cost about $1 billion, said Wilding, who oversees both airports.
The redesigned terminal will offer expansive views of the Potomac River and the Washington monuments across the river.
The first phase of that project will open next May, Wilding said.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Once its expansion is complete, Washington Dullesby CNBInternational Airport is expected to serve up to 50 million
passengers a year.