[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 232 (Friday, December 5, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56270-56271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22010]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket DOT-OST-2025-1887]
Revitalizing Washington Dulles International Airport
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation
(Department).
ACTION: Request for information (RFI).
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SUMMARY: The Department is interested in design concepts and
construction and financing proposals for the development of completely
new terminals and concourses to replace or build upon the existing main
terminal and satellite concourses at Washington Dulles International
Airport. This RFI is being conducted to inform and develop potential
approaches for entirely new terminal(s) and concourses to replace the
existing terminal and concourses. The Department will also accept
submissions that propose to retain portions of the existing airport
facilities, including, for example, by incorporating all or part of the
historic Eero Saarinen-designed main terminal into a new terminal
building.
DATES: Questions regarding this RFI must be submitted by December 15,
2025. By December 26, 2025, the Department will post on its website
answers to questions received. Final submissions are due by January 20,
2026.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are encouraged to submit responses to the
questions posed in this RFI, along with supporting information,
identified by ``Washington Dulles Revitalization,'' by any of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Owen Morgan, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Office of the Secretary, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE,
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-4000. Email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Purpose
When people arrive to the Nation's capital from abroad, the
airports they see should be inspiring, serving as a symbol of the might
and prestige of the United States. Washington, DC's airports should be
a source of pride for Americans. Yet they are anything but. Washington
Dulles International Airport in particular--the busiest of the three
airports servicing the National Capital Region--has fallen into a state
of disrepair since it opened its doors in 1962. Once known for its
iconic aerofoil-inspired main terminal designed by Eero Saarinen, the
airport is now better known for its inefficient system of people movers
that deliver passengers as much as a half mile or more away from their
gates, its infamous moon-rover-like ``mobile lounges,'' jet fuel smell
in the concourses, and a paltry number of gates at the main terminal.
In short, Washington Dulles International Airport is no longer an
airport suitable and grand enough for the capital of the United States
of America.
On August 28, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.)
14344, Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again. The goal of E.O.
14344 is to update the policies guiding Federal architecture so that
America's public buildings inspire the American people and encourage
civic virtue, and so that architects designing Federal buildings serve
the American people. Consistent with E.O. 14344, the Department is
requesting ideas from interested parties for design proposals,
construction concepts, and potential financing plans, including public-
private partnership ideas, for completely new terminals and concourses
to replace the existing main terminal and satellite concourses at
Washington Dulles International Airport or for proposals to build upon
and transform the existing facilities. This RFI is an invitation to
submit information in response to questions posed below, as well as
design, finance, and construction concepts for a new international
gateway airport for the National Capital Region. Ideas should be bold,
creative, and uncompromising. Americans deserve a big, beautiful new
airport for the Nation's capital.
The Department, which owns the airport, intends to provide all
submissions received under this RFI to the Metropolitan Washington
Airports Authority (MWAA), which operates the airport under a long-term
lease, for MWAA's consideration and potential sponsorship.
2. Background
Washington Dulles International Airport has served the DC region
since its opening in 1962. In 2024, the airport was the 24th largest in
the United States by passenger enplanements.
The Secretary of Transportation and MWAA first executed a lease for
Ronald Reagan National Airport and Washington Dulles International
Airport and the surrounding properties in 1987 (``the lease''). Prior
to the establishment of MWAA and the lease of both airports to MWAA,
the airports had been operated by the Federal Aviation Agency and its
predecessor (the Civil Aeronautics Authority). The Metropolitan
Washington Airports Act of 1986 \1\ (the Act), authorized the lease to
transfer operating responsibility for both airports to MWAA, a public
body created by an interstate compact between the Commonwealth of
Virginia and the District of Columbia. The lease currently expires in
2100.
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\1\ Codified at 49 U.S.C. 49101 et seq.
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The Department seeks responses to the questions posed in this RFI,
along with supporting information, developed independently from the
current capital improvement plans proposed by MWAA, including the
Washington Dulles International Airport Master Plan approved by the
MWAA board of directors on July 16, 2025.
3. Nature of Information Request 2
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\2\ This is not a Screening Information Request or Request for
Offers. DOT is not seeking or accepting unsolicited proposals
related to this activity. The Department will not pay for any
information received or costs incurred in preparing a response to
this request. Any costs associated with a submittal are solely at
the interested vendor's expense. The Department reserves the right
to communicate with any, some, or none of the respondents. Any
submissions will remain with the Department for its use and will not
be returned to the respondents.
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The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information for design-
construction plans for new terminal(s) and concourses to replace or
build upon the existing terminal and concourses at Washington Dulles
International Airport that can assist the Department in:
Learning more about what designs may be suitable and
appropriate for the site.
Gaining a better understanding of what structures could be
employed to finance a redesign or design-build of the airport or a
major renovation thereof.
Learning the estimated timeline for completion of such a
project.
Gathering cost information.
The Department may use information obtained through this request to
assist, inform, and research paths for new terminals and concourses to
replace the existing terminal(s) and concourses using all available
resources and authorities. The Department will also accept submissions
that propose to retain all or part of the existing airport facilities,
including the Eero Saarinen-
[[Page 56271]]
designed main terminal, such as proposals to incorporate portions of
the Saarinen structure into a new terminal building. This information
will assist the Department in its consideration of how best to
accomplish this task.
DOT requests statements of interest and capability statements from
qualified industry partners.
4. Submittal Requests for RFI
Interested members of the public, including potential vendors, are
requested to submit information on the following:
Company Information. Respondents are requested to submit the
following, as applicable:
Company name and address;
URL of company website (if applicable); and
Point of contact, including telephone number and email
address.
RFI Questions. Any interested member of the public, including a
potential vendor, is invited to provide information responsive to the
questions below. Responses will enable the Department to ascertain
potential options for detailed design-construction plans for new
terminal(s) and concourses to replace or build upon the existing
terminal and concourses at Washington Dulles International Airport.
1. (Design/Concept) What designs should be considered for a bold
new airport to replace the existing terminal and concourses?
Are there any detailed renderings or designs sufficient to
convey the concept?
Is there a description of the vision, architecture, and
key elements of the concept?
Is there a design that could retain all or part of the
existing airport facilities, including the Eero Saarinen-designed main
terminal?
2. (Cost/Price) What is a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost
estimate for a redesign or major renovation?
3. (Structure/Financing) How could a design-build be structured and
financed to maximize available funds and speed of construction of new
terminal(s) and concourses to replace or build upon the existing
terminal and concourses?
What are any innovative approaches to financing and
delivery methods, such as a Public-Private Partnership (P3), Airport
Investment Partnership Program, alternate delivery methods, exceptions
to procurement requirements for recipients of Federal financial
assistance, or other creative concepts for structure and finance of the
design-build?
4. (Timing) What is the expected timing of a design-build of a
redesign or major renovation(s), such as discussed in Item 1?
Specifically:
What is the expected timing of each phase of design-build
and the schedule of activities necessary for a complete redesign and
build or major renovation?
What are the principal factors that could accelerate or
delay a design and build of a redesign or major renovation of the
airport?
5. (Limitations/Impediments) Are there any impediments or
limitations to a successful design-build? What are the anticipated
construction requirements for implementing your solution?
6. (Mitigation of Operational Impact) How could a redesign or major
renovation be carried out while mitigating and minimizing disruption to
airport operations during that time?
5. Timeline and Delivery of Submittal
See also the DATES section of this notice. Submit questions within
December 15, 2025. By December 26, 2025, the Department will post on
its website answers to questions received. Final submissions are due
January 20, 2026.
Submittals: Interested parties must provide responses in writing.
Responses to the RFI questions should be concise and reasonable in
length.
The ROMs will be used solely for internal informational and
planning purposes.
The Department may request clarification to responses directly
related to this RFI through direct contact with respondents.
Respondents must identify and clearly mark any proprietary information
contained in their submissions and must be prepared to provide
justification for confidential treatment to the Department of such
designations if requested. This proprietary information will be will be
treated confidentially by the Department; however, nothing alters the
Department's obligations under existing law, including any duties owed
by the Department under the Freedom of Information Act. The Department
may need the Respondent's justification of the proprietary designation
to support withholding the documents or information from public
disclosure upon request.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority at 49 U.S.C. 49101 et
seq.
Sean P. Duffy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-22010 Filed 12-4-25; 8:45 am]
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