by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:15 PM ET, Wed June 22, 2016
The $6 billion, 20-year upgrade project known as "ATLNext" for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has officially started.
According to The Associated Press, the upgrades on the Atlanta airport will include a new runway, concourse and hotel, and have started with the modernization of the airport's West Crossover, which links the plane train to baggage claim areas.
The changes to the airport have also seen the removal of the 70-foot mural of children playing in Centennial Olympic Park, known as the "Spirit of Atlanta." The mural will be replaced with a video screen with flight information and images of the city.
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Officials from the Atlanta airport also announced that work on the West Crossover will require detours at certain times, including early morning hours. The project will also include the construction of two translucent canopies spanning several lanes of roadway and sidewalks outside the domestic terminal of the airport.
Also in the plans for the 20-year upgrade project are updating the interiors of the domestic passenger terminal and concourses, adding a sixth runway and building a 400-room hotel.
"The ATLNext modernization project will prepare our airport for the future," Atlanta airport interim general manager Roosevelt Council Jr. said in a statement. "We'll honor our past by ensuring the Spirit of Atlanta remains, in some form, to welcome our guests for years to come."
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