It could be harder to find a parking space at Hartsfield-Jackson International’s domestic terminal, after the airport on Wednesday began blocking off some areas of the South parking deck to prepare for major construction work.
The airport closed portions of the South deck in preparation for the first phase in a multiyear project to reinforce and eventually replace its aging terminal decks.
Credit: ArLuther Lee
Credit: ArLuther Lee
Airport officials advise travelers to allow extra time to park, and to consider parking at other locations including the North deck or the ATL West deck connected to the terminal by SkyTrain.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Entrances to parts of the South deck are being closed now to clear those areas before work begins May 1 on a $37 million project to structurally reinforce the airport’s aging parking decks. Orange signs indicate cars parked in restricted areas will be towed.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
The construction work will be done on portions of the deck closest to the terminal. Signs direct travelers toward detours to get from the parking deck to the terminal.
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
The parking decks will not completely close while the reinforcement work is done, but the project will take about 2,500 South deck parking spaces out of commission at a time. The decks have long tended to fill up during busy periods, and the construction work means travelers will be diverted to other decks or lots even more often.
On Wednesday, the airport’s South daily and economy parking were full by early morning. North daily parking was full by late morning.
That could frustrate travelers who are rushing to the airport to catch flights and are accustomed to using daily parking and walking a short distance into the terminal.
“It’s a problem,” said traveler Sero Cardamone, who lives in Fayetteville and usually uses the airport’s South deck daily parking and walks into the terminal when he flies.
“It’s all about time,” he said, adding that he prefers not to park at a remote deck. “Not ‘til I’m forced to.”
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
Credit: Kelly Yamanouchi
The initial reinforcement work on the South deck is expected to take until January 2023 to complete, then work will begin to reinforce the North deck on the other side of the terminal.
Eventually, the airport plans to replace the parking decks as part of a decade-long project that is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Options for parking at Hartsfield-Jackson’s domestic terminal
Hourly parking and daily parking are in the parking decks that will be under construction, starting with the South deck this year. Hourly parking will be relocated to the ground level of the deck and daily parking will be limited due to the construction.
Hourly parking: $3 an hour for the first two hours, $4 an hour after that, $36 a day after 6 hours
Daily parking: $3 an hour, $19 a day
ATL West deck: $16 a day
Economy parking: $14 a day
Park-Ride lot C: $10 a day.
ATL Select park-ride lot: $10 a day for uncovered parking, $14 a day for covered parking
(Park-Ride lots A and B have closed due to construction of an end-around taxiway.)
Signs on airport roads direct motorists to the different parking options. The airport has parking deck and lot status updates on its website at atl.com — though status can change to full quickly, especially during busy periods. Tune to 830 AM radio for airport parking information.
Take a photo of your parking location as a reminder when you return from your trip.
Off-airport private parking lots, including those off Camp Creek Road, are another popular option
MARTA is another alternative. The airport MARTA station is located inside the domestic terminal.
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