President Donald Trump announced a $22.5 billion plan to overhaul and expand Washington Dulles International Airport. Describing the project as a long-overdue renovation and reconstruction, the president stated his hope that the changes will take Dulles from an impossible airport to one of the world's best.
The sweeping makeover will include the construction of new terminals and the removal of the airport's aging shuttles. The plan specifically ends the use of the widely disliked people movers, the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal.
President Trump was personally involved in the design of the capital's main international gateway, requesting and scrutinizing 3D models from competing contractors at the White House to tweak the renovation proposals. This overhaul forms part of a broader pattern of the president directing changes in Washington.
According to a White House official, the project's financing will be provided by the airport authority and the airlines operating at Dulles.