Denver International Airport (DIA) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Denver International Airport (DIA) - Essay Example DIA engineers use MapGuide to keep tabs on its massive underground utility systems including 11,365 miles of copper cable – enough to link the U.S to Argentina. The largest airport in the world is King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia. Canada’s Montreal-Mirabel Airport is ranked second. The United States of America’s Denver International Airport occupies third spot (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Denver International Airport {commonly referred to as DIA} is situated in the northeastern area of Denver in the state of Colorado. Its airfield, passenger and cargo facilities cover a massive land area of 54 square miles {140 square kilometers} (Wikipedia.org, 2007). DIA has an unusual signature white colored tension fabric roof that evokes memories of the snow-covered Rocky Mountains during winter (Wikipedia.org, 2007) – Denver lies at the rim of the Great Plains at the foot of the Rocky Mountains (Castellino, p.7). The tallest point of the roof extends 126 feet above floor level. The huge weight of the roof is borne by 34 vertical poles and 10 miles of steel wire (Datawarehouse.com, 2007). DIA is also famous for its unique pedestrian bridge that links its terminal to one of the Concourses; it affords a wonderful view of airplanes taxiing on the tarmac below (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The massive 33 storey, 327 foot high Control Tower was designed by Leo A. Daly and constructed by M.A. Mortensen Co.’s Federal Contracting Group (Flydenver.com, 2007). DIA was constructed primarily as a replacement for Stapleton International Airport that has since been decommissioned. The U.S. Federal government allocated an initial amount of $ 60 million to build DIA in September 1989 (Wikipedia.org, 2007). Hispanic Mayor Federico Pena {term as Mayor: 1983 to 1991} easily the most active, capable and farsighted Mayor of Denver, was in office at that time (Castellino, p.33). Although scheduled to be ready in four years’ time, the project extended to five