Posted by Sen. Reid's Staff  on 6/27/2012 - 2:56 PM

 As we finished the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act about three years ago, one of the last things I did was put in a measure that allowed McCarran Airport to complete building Terminal 3 (T3). This relief saved $80 million in costs and allowed the T3 project to move forward. Opening today, the new T3 will help connect Nevada to the rest of the world and revolutionize travel to the Silver State. T3 will give Southern Nevada the ability to welcome more domestic travelers and increase Nevada’s share of international tourists for years to come.

T3 was a 2.5 billion project and created thousands of jobs in Southern Nevada. In 2010, I remember visiting the project in the early hours of the morning when it was still dark, and I would watch hundreds and hundreds of workers travel to the construction site with their lunch buckets, thankful that they had a job. Their hard work will pay dividends for Nevada in the future. The state-of-the-art gateway can now handle up to 53 million passengers a year, which will boost Southern Nevada’s local economy, create jobs, and expand Nevada’s middle class.

This is a big day for Southern Nevada. Las Vegas is the world’s premier tourism destination, and a reinvigorated international terminal will be a shot in the arm for the city. I look forward to visiting the completed facility firsthand in the near future.

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