STLPR0%
$30M federal grant for Lambert power plant is central to terminal consolidation 44%
By Will Bauer0%
5/28/2026, 8:54:08 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 17 faulty reasoning types, including In-Group Bias, Appeal to Emotion, and Appeal to Authority, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 25.9% saturation with 170 hits. Analysis detected 766 faulty-reasoning hits from 657 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 47.2% and a BS Rank of 44% (11,602 of 20,409 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 56.80% of the article peer group.
A $30 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration will be used by St.
Louis Lambert International Airport to help pay for the construction of a modernized electricity facility that’s central to the airport's plan to consolidate its two terminals into one.
The grant, which was lauded by public officials on Thursday, will be combined with another $20 million awarded last year for the project.
“It’s what will keep this airport running on a daily basis, keep everything alive, keep all the generators running and also be able to ensure that we’ve got the resilience that we currently have concerns about,” Lambert Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said.
The renovation of what is known as the central utility plant, which was originally built in 1956, and a new Ameren substation will cost roughly $200 million.
The remainder of the project not covered by the federal grants will be paid with bonds issued by Lambert.
Republican Sen.
Eric Schmitt and Democratic Rep.
Wesley Bell, who both advocated for the FAA grant, described the modernized terminal as needed for the region.
“Not only does it have to do with the future prosperity of this region, it also has to do with the self-esteem of the region,” Schmitt said.
“This is a great place in our country, a great American city, a region that has a lot to be proud of and deserves an airport that gets us from here to there that is a showcase for this great part of the country.”
With an improved airport, the federal lawmakers and other regional officials also believe the St.
Louis region will be more competitive for businesses to move into the region or expand current operations.
“When companies decide where to expand and create job hubs, the status of the airport is one of the first things that they look at,” Bell said.
“Too often, Lambert's aging infrastructure has been a factor in St.
Louis becoming excluded from those conversations.
This federal investment helps make St.
Louis more competitive by improving and expanding the airport.”
It’s expected the consolidated terminal, which would branch out of the existing first terminal, would first open in phases by 2028 and would be complete by 2032.
The single terminal would consist of 62 gates, expanded concessions, improved roadways and a new parking garage.
The airlines that operate out of Lambert and will largely finance the consolidation have approved the preparation work for the project and roughly 30% of the design.
They are expected to give their final decision on the whole project next fall when the design stage will reach 60% completion and a firm price tag will be set.
When introduced in 2022, Lambert officials anticipated the consolidation to cost between $2.8 billion and $3 billion, but that’s expected to increase due to inflation and higher costs for labor and materials.
Eventually, the area officials are hopeful Lambert can one day return to its hub status that it held until the 2000s after American Airlines bought Trans World Airlines.
Hamm-Niebruegge, who’s retiring this fall after leading the airport for 16 years, believes it would take population growth in the area to persuade an airline to make Lambert a hub like those in Chicago, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia or Atlanta.
“They're seeing continued growth in some of those regions, which is important to the airlines to know not only the local numbers there, but, as we bring connecting traffic through, those costs can be viable,” Hamm-Niebruegge said.
Mayor Cara Spencer said the FAA’s decision to award Lambert the grant is “a vote of confidence” in the airport’s future.
“You can count on the City of St.
Louis to be a continued partner in this work — regardless of political lines, regardless of other factionalization that has occurred from time to time in the political landscape,” Spencer said.
“We are here to do this work together.”
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100%flagged-word coverageWesley Bell
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