DFW Completes Third End-Around Taxiway Ahead of Schedule

Image: DFW Airport
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has just completed its Southwest End-Around Taxiway – marking the completion of the airport’s third end-around taxiway.

End-around taxiways allow arriving aircraft to taxi around active runways rather than waiting to cross them. By eliminating active runway crossings, the taxiways generate aircraft operating cost savings and reduce passenger travel times. The taxiways also help avoid aircraft stoppages, decreasing taxi times by an average of four minutes per flight as aircraft travel between the runway and gate areas.

The Southwest End-Around Taxiway includes more than 600 LED light fixtures to improve awareness for pilots and ground crews, 145,000 linear feet of electrical cable to power lighting and critical safety systems, and nearly 97,000 square yards of concrete taxiway pavement to support safe, predictable aircraft movement. Together, these improvements support safer, more efficient airfield operations.

The project is part of DFW’s historic capital plan, DFW Forward, which includes investments to enhance and modernize runways, roadways, bridges and other critical airport infrastructure. The project builds on DFW’s ongoing efforts to improve airfield operations and prepare the airport for continued growth, which is on track to reach 100 million passengers by 2030.

DFW’s first end-around taxiway, located on the southeast side of the airport, was completed in 2008. The Northeast End-Around Taxiway opened in May 2022, making DFW the only airport in the United States with end-around taxiways at both ends of a runway. The FAA has committed a total of $180 million in grant funding to DFW’s End-Around Taxiway program. The completion of the Southwest End-Around Taxiway adds a third to DFW’s industry-leading program.