$1.2 billion building for international flights provides security enhancements =20 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport showed off its new international terminal for the first time Thursday.=20 The state-of-the-art Terminal D - the world's largest airport expansion project since the Sept. 11 attacks - is designed to generate business, pamper passengers and thwart potential terrorists. Officials hope it will help vault D-FW to the lofty status of being the world's busiest airport.=20 >From ground level, the unique design looks like someone planted a luxury hotel in the middle of a turn at Texas Motor Speedway. From the air, however, the terminal's true size and shape becomes evident. The building totals 2 million square feet - enough space to fit three Texas Stadiums, built with enough concrete to construct a four-foot-wide sidewalk from Dallas to Montreal.=20 "I need to point out here that not one single local tax dollar is being used," said D-FW Airport board chairman Max Wells.=20 Although airlines and their passengers will pay for the project through higher landing fees, Wells said the terminal should help struggling carriers, including Fort Worth-based American Airlines.=20 "When we add this number of gates, this number of flights, this number of seats, and the ability to bring in more international flights particularly, I think it's going to have a huge economic impact for this whole area," Wells said.=20 The new international terminal looks different from all the others at D-FW.=20 "As passengers enter Terminal D from the garage, they will immediately notice the sleek and spacious design," intones a promotional video with computer renderings of the structure. "The terminal will welcome nearly 37,000 new passengers daily."=20 But that's still a year away. For now, visitors can only imagine the towering escalators, artwork embedded in walls and floors, a baggage claim area the size of a giant retail store, and hidden security features that officials won't discuss.=20 Although passengers may not notice, the Sept. 11 attacks had a profound impact on the building. Construction was delayed by almost three months so the floors, walls, ceilings and even windows could be heavily reinforced.=20 "More than $45 million was added in security enhancements for a post-9/11 environment - just to Terminal D," said D-FW chief operating officer Kevin Cox.=20 The total price tag for the new terminal is nearly $1.2 billion; it's scheduled to open in late 2005.=20 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/wfaa04 0812_am_dfwterminal.706d3bc9.html =20