New Palm Springs airport escalators ready for final inspection, on track to open by month’s end

Palm Springs International Airport’s two new escalators serving the Sonny Bono Concourse have passed their first state inspection and remain on schedule to be finished by the end of September, airport Project Manager Harman Singh told the Airport Commission Wednesday.

Crews have fully removed both old escalators and installed the new units. Workers are now installing glass rails and other hardware, along with remaining concrete work.

Staff said they expect to learn this week when the final state inspection will take place. Throughout construction, both of the concourse’s elevators kept running, and the airport brought in extra staff to help passengers who used the stairs. The project is meant to replace the concourse’s aging escalators to reduce noise and improve operational uptime.

Commission Chairman Kevin Corcoran said the commission plans to hold a ribbon-cutting celebration once the project wraps, with the date expected to land in late September or early October. “We’ll let you all know because you’re all going to want to be there,” Corcoran said.

The escalators were one of several capital projects Singh briefed the commission on. A $93 million outbound baggage handling system, projected to take about three years, is due to break ground Oct. 20; a temporary structure is already in place, and the airport expects its first shipment of baggage handling equipment within four weeks.

Commissioners also approved seeking $150,000 in additional Measure J funding — bringing the total to $650,000 — to replace all of the Sonny Bono Concourse seating, with installation planned for May.

Other projects include rideshare shade structures expected to be finished by late in the fourth quarter of 2026; a parking access and revenue control system project that mobilized this month and is also targeted for completion by the end of 2026; electric-vehicle charging stations awaiting county calibration before they can open, potentially as soon as early October; and a new administration building that is about 90% complete, with remaining staff expected to move in by mid-October.

Staff said long-planned restroom renovations remain designed but unfunded after a roughly $8 million federal funding application was denied, and that the project could be folded into the airport’s forthcoming five-year capital improvement plan, due before the commission at a Dec. 9 strategic planning session.

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