ST. LOUIS, Missouri — St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) leaders joined airline partners, local officials and Burns & McDonnell project team members for a ribbon-cutting and celebration at the airport’s new 3 million-gallon bulk jet fuel storage facility. The $50 million facility, designed and built by Burns & McDonnell on behalf of the airlines, is one of the few greenfield fuel storage facilities built in America in the last 30 years.

Nearly doubling former capacity, the project included three new above-ground fuel tanks, each capable of holding 1 million gallons of jet fuel, plus room for a fourth tank should the airport’s future demands warrant additional capacity. An 11,000-foot underground fuel transmission pipeline with a leak detection system was installed to deliver fuel to the terminal, along with five horizontal pumps, each capable of delivering fuel at 1,200 gallons per minute, greatly increasing reliability and safety for aircraft refueling. The project also included a 4,300-square-foot operations building, including a control room, offices and vehicle maintenance shop.

“The new fuel storage facility will have a major impact on fueling operations here at STL, greatly enhancing efficiency and safety,” says Ruvim Katan, fuel category manager at Southwest Airlines and chairman of STL Fuel Company LLC. “I join my other airline partners in thanking the airport and Burns & McDonnell for supporting our vision and delivering these future-focused infrastructure solutions and facilities.”

In addition, STL invested another $50 million into other fueling-related infrastructure as part of the project, including hydrant system improvements, a new emergency fuel shut off system, a hydrant cart test facility, a truck load facility and parking, and new fueling stations for ground service equipment.

“St. Louis Lambert is thrilled to have these new facilities in place to support future airport growth,” says Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, STL airport director. “Investing in new infrastructure is key to continuing our mission of enhancing the passenger experience for our travelers and creating a great experience for our airline partners.”

Before the project began, Burns & McDonnell worked with the airlines and STL Fuel Company LLC to conduct a feasibility study to determine the scope of facility needed to support the airport’s current and future demands. After determining the scope, the team designed the facility to meet the airport’s needs, and construction for the project broke ground in summer 2019.

Replacing the aging former facility, originally built over 60 years prior, the total of 8 acres of new fueling infrastructure is positioned to support the airport for many years to come.

“Burns & McDonnell is proud to deliver this state-of-the-art fuel facility for the airport, STL Fuel Company and its airline partners,” says Kurt Janisch, Burns & McDonnell project manager for the STL fuel facility project. “We were honored to be trusted to provide insight into STL’s future needs, and look forward to seeing the future success the airport achieves with these updated facilities and infrastructure.”

Burns & McDonnell ranks No. 9 among the Top 500 Design Firms in the U.S. and No. 6 among the Top 100 Design-Build Firms, according to Engineering News-Record.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 7,600 engineers, construction professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities with more than 60 offices globally. Founded in 1898, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.