(flydenver.com)

Denver International Airport plans to use a reduction in air travel resulting from the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to accelerate long-planned refurbishment work on its concourses.

The Denver City Council approved a proposal this month to spend up to $560 million in additional funds on the airport's existing concourse expansion projects, The Denver Post reported.

The $1.5 billion program has been underway since 2018 and is expected to add 39 gates.

The additional work will include customization of new gates and nearby office construction for United Airlines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co., which signed leases earlier this year, the airport said.

Other work is expected to include potential upgrades of restrooms, moving walkways, ramps, and outdoor gate-apron areas that have aged since the airport's 1995 opening.

Officials are considering putting the tasks on the same schedule as the new gates, with a projected completion by early 2022.

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