At KCI, workers drill ‘production piles’ into soil to prepare foundation for new terminal

It’s a foundational moment at KCI.

Two new 80-foot cranes signal the next phase in construction of the $1.5 billion air terminal—installation of more than 2,000 production piles. These are cement supports that will form the basis for the building’s foundation.

This follows the embedding of “test piles” used to determine the proper depth, diameter and number of permanent supports for the terminal.

The city said it hopes to have the facility open for passengers in early 2023.

Earlier versions of this story incorrectly described the difference between test piles and production piles.

This story was originally published October 17, 2019 at 3:20 PM.