The finishing touches on the expansion of William P. Hobby Airport were applied in July, when the new parking garage — providing 3,000 new spaces for travelers utilizing the city’s oldest commercial airport — was opened in full.

With the last of the ambitious project complete, more than $250 million in expansion, improvements and investment in the future stand ready to welcome the growing number of travelers at Hobby — which saw a record of more than 12 million passengers in 2015 — and poised to handle the continued growth.

The $55 million, 1 million-square-foot new parking facility — coupled with improvements made to the existing terminal parking garage and expansion of the ecopark lot — brings the total parking capacity at Hobby Airport up to more than 7,200. The new garage features new signage with integrated car counts that enable drivers to know how many spaces are available in a given direction, and is directly connected to the new ticket lobby by a climate-controlled pedestrian bridge that offers safe access and shelter from the elements.

It is all part of the $100 million invested by the City of Houston and the Houston Airport system in enabling projects, designed to complement the $156 million 280,000-square-foot terminal expansion led by Southwest Airlines.

As well as addressing parking, an upgrade to the bi-level roadway system surrounding the airport includes improvements that feature a widened upper ramp, additional space to drop off passengers, and clearly defined lanes on the lower level for picking up of arriving passengers has also been developed. In addition, a newly-constructed satellite utility plant provides the heating needs for the new and existing concourses and Hobby Airport in an excellent position to accommodate future growth.

There are also several visual enhancements to this project. The existing fence along Airport Boulevard between Monroe Road and Telephone Road has been replaced by approximately 7,000 linear feet of existing airport fencing. As well, landscaping that features new palm trees and tropical flowers give customers and the community and enhanced scenery as they approach the airport.

A project that addressed both utility and aesthetics, a total of 175 fixtures were installed on the interior and exterior of the terminal building. Full LED fixtures were used. Lighting levels were increased exponentially — about 200 percent increased lighting levels — and now provide a more modern look and more sustainability.

The new terminal facility has been open and operating since October 2015, and already has earned accolades from industry leaders and, more importantly, customers. The new terminal facility includes a five-gate concourse, Federal Inspection Station, Southwest Airlines ticketing hall and expanded security checkpoint.

The new, modern concourse boasts “swing gates” — which can accommodate both international and domestic travelers — an expansive ticketing area equipped with self-tagging kiosks to speed up the check-in process, abundant seating in the gate areas that feature seats with electric outlets for charging phones and personal devices, and modern customs facilities that include 14 Automated Passport Control and six Global Entry kiosks to streamline U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) screening and baggage processing for arriving international passengers.

Even prior to the arrival of international air service, Hobby Airport was experiencing unprecedented growth in recent years. Last year marked the fifth consecutive year that an all-time record was set in regards to passenger totals, with Southwest Airlines accounting for the overwhelming majority of that traffic. Over the past 10 years, Hobby Airport has seen a 44 percent increase in its total number of passengers, while the number of cities available via nonstop flights has increased by more than 50 percent,  climbing to more than 50 total destinations. The addition of international air service from Southwest Airlines will take that tally well above the 60 city mark.