(Radio Iowa) – Managers of the state’s largest airport marked the beginning of the construction of a new 445 million dollar terminal with a groundbreaking today (Wednesday) in Des Moines. Airport executive director Kevin Foley says it has taken some time to get things planned and underway.

He says 65 percent of the people who leave the state by air fly out of Des Moines. Foley says it will give the airlines and passengers more space.

Foley says the new terminal will replace the original which had been added onto several times.

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The plan is to have the building itself will be completed in 2026 and then they will tear down the existing terminal and get the road in by 2027.

The project includes federal, state and local funding. Polk County voters will be going to the polls to vote on allowing the county to take out 350 million dollars in bonds for the project.