Mammoet moves DFW Terminal F modules amid airport capacity push

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Mammoet has completed the transport and installation support for six prefabricated modules forming the first phase of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s future Terminal F, marking a major logistics step in one of the largest airport expansion programmes in the United States.

The modules were fabricated on airport property and moved one by one to the Terminal F site using self propelled modular transporters. For heavy transport specialists, the move was a familiar challenge in an unfamiliar setting: how to shift structures weighing thousands of tonnes through an active airport environment without disrupting the wider operation.

The first phase of Terminal F includes a 15 gate concourse and a new Skylink station. The broader programme is intended to expand airport capacity and support future growth at DFW, one of the busiest aviation hubs in North America.

The largest module weighed 3,320 tonnes and measured about 85 metres in length, according to Mammoet. Walsh said the largest unit measured 278 feet by 136 feet, underlining the scale of the modular construction approach.

For comparison, moving one of these sections is less like transporting a building component and more like relocating part of a terminal before the terminal is finished. The work required route planning, temporary supports, load control and careful coordination with airport construction teams.

Mammoet said the modules were fitted onto SPMTs equipped with metal supports, allowing the units to be lifted by the transporter stroke before being carried across the tarmac and set into position.

The first phase is being delivered by Innovation Next+, a design build joint venture involving The Walsh Group through Walsh Construction and Archer Western, Turner Construction Company, Phillips May Corporation, H. J. Russell & Company and CARCON Industries.

Turner said the project was awarded as an $855 million contract for a new concourse building and Skylink station infrastructure. The concourse is expected to cover nearly 400,000 square feet and support aircraft parking on both sides.

Construction began in mid 2024, with the first phase scheduled to become operational in 2027.

The use of modular construction allowed large parts of the terminal structure to be built away from the final installation point. For an airport, that matters. Space is limited, access is controlled and every major construction movement has to work around passenger, airline and airside operations.

Mammoet project manager Reid Whitley said modular construction can help reduce work at building sites and allow structural elements to progress in parallel.

That is the central operational point. By fabricating major sections nearby and moving them into place later, the project team reduced the amount of work needed directly at the terminal footprint. It is the airport construction equivalent of preparing the meal away from the dining room, then bringing it in when service is ready.

Airport World reported that the final move was completed on August 8, 2025, after six overnight module moves during a two week period. The publication also reported that the modules were among the largest ever moved for an airport terminal expansion.

The wider Terminal F programme is planned to deliver 31 gates in its final configuration, with American Airlines expected to operate from the terminal. The project also includes plans for international operations, widebody aircraft capability, parking, ticketing, check in, security screening and baggage functions.

The first phase will connect to DFW’s Skylink people mover system, giving the new terminal linkages into the airport’s existing passenger transport network.

For the breakbulk and project cargo sector, the DFW move shows how heavy transport techniques more often associated with energy, industrial and port projects are being applied to aviation infrastructure.

SPMTs are not new to project logistics, but their use in airport terminal construction is gaining attention because of the schedule pressure around live infrastructure sites. Airports cannot simply stop operating while new capacity is built.

The question for future airport projects is no longer whether large structures can be built off site. It is how much of the construction programme can be shifted away from congested work areas, then delivered with enough precision to keep the wider operation moving.