Major expansion under way at Lindbergh

Traffic snarls in the offing due to lost parking space

By Steve Schmidt, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Originally published March 11, 2010 at 5:45 p.m.,
updated March 12, 2010 at 12:56 a.m.

Fasten your seat belts: Lindbergh Field is launching a $1 billion terminal expansion that will make the airport tougher to navigate during construction.

As soon as next week, nearly 400 parking spaces will be removed temporarily from the Terminal 2 lot, on the west end of the airfield, as the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority begins work on a new dual-level roadway near the front steps of the terminal.

The agency also is adding 10 boarding gates, concession space and more security check-in lanes as part of the three-year overhaul.

Authority officials will close the entire 1,286-space Terminal 2 parking lot for at least several months starting early next year, but say they will provide an equivalent number of nearby spots that will be accessible by shuttle bus.

“There’s going to be some pain as we go through this construction project,â€