TL;DR: Northwest Arkansas National Airport is mid-construction on a new 141-foot air traffic control tower, a terminal modernization project, a new Concourse B and a four-lane access road, with work stretching from 2024 into 2028 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026).
A New Tower for a Growing Airport
Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) is at 1 Airport Blvd, Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened November 1, 1998 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026). For nearly three decades, the airport operated with a 57-foot temporary air traffic control tower (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026). That's changing: construction on a new, 141-foot permanent tower began in June 2024, more than double the height of the structure it replaces (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026). A taller tower gives air traffic controllers a clearer sightline over a larger footprint, which matters as the number of flights and gates grows. Discover Bentonville, Arkansas to see how this fits into the region's broader growth.
A New Concourse and a Modernized Terminal
The airport entered the design phase for a new Concourse B in September 2021. Phase One of that project is estimated at $35 million to $50 million, with construction projected for 2026 through 2028 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026). That's a multi-year build, and it follows a design phase that had already been underway for years before ground is expected to break, which is typical for a project of this scale at a commercial airport.
Separately, a terminal modernization project begun in 2023 includes upgraded baggage systems, new elevators and escalators, and redesigned passenger pick-up and drop-off areas (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026). Together, these projects are meant to keep the terminal experience matching the region's passenger growth rather than falling behind it. For a traveler, that generally shows up as shorter waits at baggage claim and less congestion at curbside drop-off over time, though during active construction it can also mean temporary detours and signage changes worth planning around.
A New Access Road
A four-lane airport access road project began construction on April 17, 2024, and is scheduled for completion in 2027 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026). Travelers should expect construction-related delays on the current approach roads in the meantime, with a wider, higher-capacity route arriving by the project's 2027 completion date. If you're planning a flight during the construction window, it's worth building in a little extra buffer time on the drive in, the same way you would around any active road project.
Why It's Worth Tracking
None of these four projects — the tower, Concourse B, the terminal work, or the access road — happen in isolation. Taken together, they represent a multi-year commitment of construction dollars into a single piece of regional infrastructure, spanning from the tower's June 2024 groundbreaking through the Concourse B construction window that runs into 2028. For residents, the practical takeaway isn't any one project on its own, but the fact that the airport is actively being built out to keep pace with a growing region rather than staying static while the population around it grows. That's a different pattern than a lot of regional airports go through, where infrastructure tends to lag well behind population growth until overcrowding forces the issue. Here, the tower, the terminal, the concourse and the access road are all moving at roughly the same time, rather than one project waiting years for the last one to finish.
For anyone new to the area, or weighing a move here, it's also a useful signal about how the region as a whole approaches growth. An airport doesn't expand its control tower, break ground on a new concourse, and widen its access road all inside the same few years unless the people planning it expect sustained passenger growth to continue. None of that changes what it's like to fly out of XNA today — you'll still use the current tower, terminal and roads until each project finishes on its own schedule — but it does mean the inconvenience of construction now is aimed at a specific, dated set of improvements rather than an open-ended promise.
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How tall is the new air traffic control tower at Northwest Arkansas National Airport?
The new tower stands 141 feet tall, a replacement for the original 57-foot temporary structure that had been in use since 1998 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026).
When is the new Concourse B project expected to be completed?
Construction for Phase One of the new Concourse B is projected to run from 2026 through 2028 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026).
When will the four-lane airport access road project be finished?
Work on the four-lane airport access road began on April 17, 2024, and is scheduled for completion in 2027 (Wikipedia, 'Northwest Arkansas National Airport', accessed August 2026).