Update on Nashville Airport construction

Beginning today, the temporary two-lane Ring Road will be reduced to a single lane in one stretch through the long-term parking lot to install a utility duct bank across the road. Depending on weather, this lane reduction may continue for up to one week. Ring Road is the one-way road that surrounds Nashville International Airport's short- and long-term parking facilities and offers access to the terminal.

In addition, the entrance and exit to the long-term parking lot will be impacted with upcoming construction.

Nashville International Airport passengers and guests are advised to watch

for construction detour signage, reduce speed, and stay alert for construction workers.

Temporarily, no cell phone/waiting area is available. If waiting for arriving passengers, you may use either the 10-minute waiting area outside the baggage claim area or the short-term parking garage.

The terminal entrance off of Donelson Pike, nearest I-40 and adjacent to the Economy Parking Lot, is temporarily closed. Drivers can still access the Economy Parking Lot from Donelson Pike, but terminal access from that entrance has been closed. NOTE: The main airport entrance off of Donelson Pike, adjacent to the Long-term Parking Lot, remains open

Visit the Nashville International Airport website for more information.

Aloft Hotels in Nashville

Aloft Nashville Downtown and Aloft Nashville Airport will both offer 136 spacious, loft-like rooms, tech-savvy touches and a hip, social atmosphere.

"Starwood's newest lifestyle brand, Aloft is stylish, fun and affordable - a perfect match for the dynamic city of Nashville," said Brian McGuinness, Vice President of Aloft and Element hotels worldwide."Known as Music City USA, Nashville appeals to youthful-minded travelers with its thriving music scene, superb dining, shopping and entertainment."

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Read the entire story about Aloft Hotels in Nashville in the Hotels & Motel Management magazine.

Change and construction at the Nashville International Airport

• Sub-Phase I (Oct. 2008-May 2009): Entrance to/from I-40 – currently one lane each way separated by a median – will shift to two-way traffic on one side of the median. The cell phone/waiting area will move to the current economy parking lot and will increase in size. Ticket spitters for short- and long-term parking lots will move.
• Sub-Phase II (May-July 2009): Ring Road will be extended and routed through current long-term parking lot.
• Sub-Phase III (July-Sept. 2009): Demolition of current cell phone/waiting area; finish roadway tie-ins.

Why are you overhauling the airport’s roads?
TARI will eliminate the need for vehicles to merge and weave through multiple lanes of traffic on Ring Road, and will improve ingress/egress from both I-40 and Donelson Pike.

For up-to-date information on airport construction, please visit FlyNashville.com and sign up for AIReport, the airport’s e-newsletter. Or, tune in to the airport’s radio station at 1610 AM.

The Worst Holiday Travel Treks

Plane, train, or automobile? Doesn't matter--avoid Chicago.

In compiling lists of the nation's worst roads, airports and rail lines for the holiday travel season, the windy city's a triple winner, the only U.S. metro appearing on all three lists. By our calculations, no holiday itinerary could be worse than flying into O'Hare and then hitting Interstate 90 to head for the suburbs or getting on Amtrak for points west.

Thanksgiving weekend is also the busiest time of year for the nation's roads, with the majority of trips lasting at least and hour and a quarter of them encompassing 200 miles or more, according to Mapquest.

It's all bad. But where is it worst?

Read the complete article in Forbes.

Airports add entertainment to lower holiday travel stress

The last place anyone wants to be during the holidays is the airport. Yet that's often where we find ourselves, either dazed and frazzled or waiting at some crowded holding pen for arriving guests. Hard to believe but, yes, airports do feel your pain. Many are even trying to alleviate some of that airport anguish through a roster of daily concerts and live entertainment.



In Nashville International Airport it's a little bit country and a little bit blues with trios and troubadours jazzing up both the Landings Bar and the C-Triangle Food Court.

Read the entire story in the Dallas Morning News.

Unstable arches close Encounter restaurant at LAX

This is sad to hear of another landmark that has not been properly taken care of. I sure hope they repair it and keep the well-known arches in better shape.


Here is a story from the L.A. Times

Officials shuttered the Encounter restaurant in the iconic Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport today after workers discovered the space-age arches that surround the eatery are unstable.

Inspectors uncovered the problem after a 1,000-pound piece of white stucco fell off the underside of one of the arches and smashed into the eatery's roof. No one was injured.

The arches, which don't provide structural support for the glass-encased restaurant, haven't been renovated since they were erected in the late 1950s.

Officials said the restaurant closure, expected to last at least six months, is a psychological blow to LAX, which is eagerly awaiting intense worldwide media attention when the massive Airbus A380 arrives March 19 on its first U.S. test flight.

The Theme Building — along with the Hollywood sign — has long been considered one of Los Angeles' signature landmarks.

By Jennifer Oldham
LATimes Staff Writer