The massive overhaul of parking at the world’s busiest airport is about to enter a new phase, one that is sure to bring more confusion and headaches for travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson International.
The airport said late Tuesday its South economy lot will be closed for construction starting Oct. 23 to build a new parking deck on the site, which lies next to the domestic terminal.
The airport says the new parking deck on that site will be completed in fall 2026, part of a decade-long project to reinforce and eventually replace the aging decks at the domestic terminal.
The parking construction work is being done in phases, and the new deck construction will start after structural rehabilitation work on the Terminal North parking deck is completed and those spaces at Terminal North reopen.
Hartsfield-Jackson said it plans a “robust outreach effort” with updates, parking options and traffic changes to address potential challenges.
The parking deck refurbishment work has taken about 2,500 parking spaces out of commission at a time, along with lane closures and detours.
It has caused heavy traffic at the terminal during busy periods, detours for motorists and hassles trying to find parking.
The reduced parking next to the terminal will continue with the closure of the Terminal South economy lot.
Airport officials are directing travelers to consider parking at the ATL West remote parking deck, which is connected to the domestic terminal via free SkyTrain and costs $16 a day, which is more than the $14 a day for economy parking. Other options include North economy, other airport-run park-ride lots, off-airport parking lots on Camp Creek Parkway and MARTA.
The airport earlier this year outlined plans to build a new seven-level South parking deck with about 6,700 parking spaces.
Once the new deck in the Terminal South economy lot is complete, it will be used for parking while the existing South deck is demolished. The new seven-level deck will eventually become part of a larger reconstructed South deck.
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